Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has made a bold claim about the future of robots. He has said that Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus could one day become the first machine that can make copies of itself and build entire civilisations on its own even on other planets.
While this sounds like something from a science fiction movie, Musk believes that in the long term such a future could become possible.
Musk recently said that Optimus could one day become what scientists call a ‘Von Neumann machine.’ This idea comes from 1945, when mathematician John von Neumann suggested machines that can copy themselves without human help.
This discussion became more popular after Musk’s companies SpaceX acquired xAI.
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On social media, Musk said that Optimus robots could, in theory, become Von Neumann machines in the future. He claimed they might one day use materials found on other planets to build more robots, homes and basic infrastructures. This will help humans settle beyond Earth.
Musk went even further and said that Optimus could become the first Von Neumann machine, capable of building a civilisation on its own on any planet that can support life. At the same time, he admitted this is still a very long goal. Right now, Optimus robots are still being tested and are mainly designed to do simple physical tasks.
Musk’s vision is not limited to space. On Earth, he believes Optimus robots could help reduce poverty and make human labour optional. He imagines robots doing boring and risky jobs, while humans focus more on creativity and personal growth.
Tesla is said to be working on speeding up Optimus development for wider use.
For now, Optimus is still a work in progress. But Elon Musk’s bold ideas have restarted debates about the future of AI, robots and humanity.
