Bezos Predicts Millions Will Live in Space Within Decades
Turin, Italy - Amazon founder Jeff Bezos made a rare public appearance at Italian Tech Week on Friday, where he predicted that millions of people will be living in space within the next couple of decades. Speaking with John Elkann, a scion of Italy's Agnelli dynasty, Bezos emphasized that people will be drawn to space because they want to live there, not just for survival.
"We're going to have millions of people living in space," Bezos said, according to the Financial Times. "It's not just about colonizing Mars or other planets; it's about creating a new society where people can thrive."
Bezos' comments come as his rival, Elon Musk, has been touting plans for human colonization of Mars, with estimates suggesting that up to 1 million people could live on the Red Planet by 2050. Bezos' vision for space habitation is more focused on creating a self-sustaining community in orbit around Earth.
"We're not just talking about robots and machines; we're talking about humans living and working in space," Bezos said. "And that's going to require a lot of infrastructure, including vast AI data centers floating overhead."
Bezos' comments were met with skepticism by some attendees at the conference, who wondered if his predictions were overly optimistic.
"It sounds like Bezos is trying to one-up Musk," said one attendee, who wished to remain anonymous. "But it's hard to say whether he knows something we don't or if he's just getting caught up in the hype."
Bezos was also bullish on other fronts, defending the AI investment boom as a positive development for the industry.
"This is not a financial bubble; this is an industrial revolution," Bezos said. "We're seeing unprecedented growth and innovation in AI, and it's going to change the world."
Background context: Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 and has since become one of the richest people in the world. In 2000, he founded Blue Origin, a private aerospace manufacturer and spaceflight services company. Bezos has been a vocal advocate for space exploration and development, with plans to send humans to the moon and Mars.
Implications: Bezos' predictions have significant implications for the future of space travel and habitation. If his vision becomes a reality, it could mean that millions of people will be living and working in space within the next couple of decades. This would require significant investment in infrastructure, including AI data centers and other technologies to support human life in space.
Next developments: Bezos' comments at Italian Tech Week are just the latest development in the ongoing debate about the future of space exploration and habitation. As the industry continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how Bezos' predictions play out and whether they become a reality.
*Reporting by Techcrunch.*
