Jeff Bezos predicts millions could live in space by 2045, calls AI era ‘civilizational abundance’

Jeff Bezos

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos believes humanity is on the verge of an extraordinary transformation — one driven by artificial intelligence and space exploration. Speaking at Italian Tech Week 2025, Bezos dismissed the widespread fear surrounding AI, arguing that the future looks brighter than many think. “I don’t see how anybody can be discouraged who is alive right now,” he said, adding that the world is entering an era of “civilizational abundance,” not decline.

Bezos projected that within the next two decades, millions of people could be living in space. “In the next couple of decades, I believe there will be millions of people living in space,” he said confidently. According to him, these future space dwellers will choose to live beyond Earth for the opportunities it offers, not out of necessity. “They’ll mostly be living there because they want to,” he explained. Bezos also noted that most physical labour in space or on the moon will likely be performed by robots, which he described as “far more cost-effective” than sending humans.

On the subject of AI, Bezos argued that innovation has always been a net positive for civilisation. Drawing parallels with early inventions, he said, “Civilizational abundance comes from our inventions. Ten thousand years ago someone invented the plough, and we all got richer. These tools have always increased our abundance, and that pattern will continue.” In his view, AI represents the next leap in human progress — a tool that will amplify creativity, efficiency, and overall prosperity.

However, Bezos’s optimism isn’t shared by everyone in the tech elite. Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates has repeatedly stated that humanity’s focus should remain on solving real-world problems such as poverty and disease before prioritising life in space. “Space? We have a lot to do here on Earth,” Gates had said in an earlier interview. Yet even Gates acknowledges that AI could reduce workloads and give people more leisure time, noting that “the purpose of life is not just to do jobs.”

Bezos’s outlook reflects a growing divide among tech leaders — between those who see AI and space as humanity’s escape route and those who see it as a distraction from fixing Earth. Still, his message remains clear: the next few decades will redefine what it means to be human.