Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s (NASDAQ:SPCX) CEO Elon Musk said that the current Earth economy, as a whole, will be significantly dwarfed by the potential economy Earth could achieve if humanity becomes a Kardashev scale two civilization.
Elon Musk Touts Kardashev Two Goal Once Again
Taking to the social media platform X on Thursday, the billionaire quoted a post by user Andrew Chen that showcased the amount of investment the U.S. had made over the years relative to its GDP in AI, telecom, railroads, highways, and more. “An Earth economy is less than a trillionth the size of a K2 economy,” Musk said, without providing any other details in the post.
What is the Kardashev Scale?
The Kardashev scale, frequently referenced by Musk, is a methodology used to calculate a civilization’s technological advancements by measuring how much energy the civilization can harness and use.
Soviet Astronomer Nikolai Kardashev originally proposed three types in 1964, but modern scientists and science fiction writers have since expanded the scale. Type 1 civilization is capable of using all the energy available on the planet.
Subsequently, a Type 2 civilization is capable of capturing and harnessing the energy of its star, like the Sun in humanity’s case, while a Type 3 civilization can harness the energy emitted by the entire galaxy.
Elon Musk’s Universal High Income Talks
Musk, on several occasions, has said that traditional currency will become obsolete in the future, saying that values will be measured in energy and mass, while also backing a universal high income system that governments will provide because of heightened productivity enabled through the use of AI.
However, in May, critics like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) expressed skepticism of Musk’s predictions and goals, saying that Musk talks about a government-issued income but cannot support a one-time 5% tax on his wealth.
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