Tesla CEO Elon Musk, right side of the screen, speaks during his virtual participation in the eighth Future Investment Initiative (FII) Conference's session on the future of artificial intelligence, moderated by XRIZE Foundation Executive Chairman Peter Diamonds at King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Saudi Arabia's capital city of Riyadh, Tuesday (local time). Courtesy of FII Institute

RIYADH — Tesla CEO Elon Musk addressed Korea's low birthrate in front of decision-makers at the world's second-largest CEO and government summit in Saudi Arabia's capital of Riyadh, Tuesday (local time), warning that dwindling population is a bigger threat to humanity than the rise of artificial intelligence (AI).

The remarks were the latest in his expression of concerns over the situation of Asia's fourth-largest economy via social media and international events. Korea's total fertility rate, meaning the number of babies a woman is expected to have during her lifetime, dropped to 0.72 in 2023.

Although Musk admitted that AI is a near-term threat that humanity should pay close attention to, he noted that the global population collapse is a more significant problem in the longer term.

"Based on current birthrates, South Korea would have about a third of its current population, while Europe would have about half of its current population," the 53-year-old said during his unexpected virtual participation in the eighth Future Investment Initiative Conference's session on the future of AI.

"If the current compounding effect continues, you would see that many countries become 5 percent of their current size or less within three generations."

The father of 12 children born to three different mothers emphasized that he has encouraged others to have lots of kids, warning that there will be no humanity without people making new humans.

During the session, the entrepreneur also predicted that the number of humanoid robots will reach 10 billion by 2040, surpassing the global population.

"The price point will be quite low, probably $20,000 to $25,000 for a robot that could do anything," he said.

Based on the belief that AI will make the world better, Musk introduced relevant technologies used in the companies he manages, such as the xAI Colossus AI supercomputer and the Optimus humanoid robots.

However, he added that SpaceX's successful capture of Starship booster did not involve AI.

"I think the future of AI is not that bad for a bunch of monkeys," Musk said.

He also expressed concerns over AI systems being trained in San Francisco's Bay Area to align with political correctness, which he believes can undermine their truth-seeking capabilities.

"You have a woke, nihilistic philosophy that has been built into these AIs and they are being taught to say crazy things in some cases that are very troubling," he said.