WASHINGTON — U.S. senators from both parties are dismissing Elon Musk’s prediction that artificial intelligence will soon do away with the need for retirement accounts — a controversial view echoed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week.
“I don't think that's right,” OpenAI founder Sam Altman told Raw Story in between meetings with senators at the Capitol this week.
While Musk no longer holds any position in the federal government, the world’s richest man still enjoys outsized influence in the Trump administration — which is why heads turned when Bessent endorsed Musk’s latest prophecy.
“I don't have a clue what they were talking about,” Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, told Raw Story.
The U.S. Capitol is no stranger to money. In the 119th Congress, 73 of the nation’s 100 senators are worth upwards of a million dollars.
While they have plenty of financial advice, Raw Story couldn’t find a single senator echoing what experts dismiss as Musk’s overly optimistic prediction.
Bessent's endorsement of Musk’s prediction that AI will so upend the economy that the technology will make 401ks obsolete in the coming years wasn't shared by one of the wealthiest politicians in Washington, Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE).
“I would recommend that Americans still plan for retirement,” Ricketts told Raw Story. “And use their retirement accounts to do it.”
While Ricketts’ official financial disclosure states he’s personally worth as much as $293 million, the co-owner of the Chicago Cubs baseball team and his siblings inherited a trust worth as high as $9 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Ricketts hasn’t seen the details of Musk or Bessent’s AI claim, but he’s cautioning American workers against banking on technology to take care of their retirement plans.
Silicon Valley skeptic, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), laughed off the notion that AI is going to remake retirement for blue-collar workers.
“Do you think AI is giving us that promising a future for workers?” Raw Story asked while riding an elevator with the senator in the Capitol. “That it’s going to do away with the need for retirement accounts in our lifetime?”
“I'd just be satisfied if it didn't take all the jobs. I mean, one thing at a time,” Hawley told Raw Story through a skeptical laugh. “I mean, it'd be great if it creates new jobs, higher wages and all.”
“Have you seen evidence of that?” Raw Story pressed.
“No,” Hawley said.
Hawley has teamed up with Democratic Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) on the AI-Related Job Impacts Clarity Act, which is intended to give Congress and workers alike more information about artificial intelligence’s actual impact on American workers.
“Let's get all the data. I mean, let's get all of the information about what jobs AI is creating, what jobs AI is destroying. What’s it doing to wages? Let's find out,” Hawley said. “Let's find out.”
As of now, because Congress has dithered when it comes to passing AI measures, Hawley said there’s no data to back up or negate Musk’s claim.
“We're totally blind,” Hawley said. “On the one hand, you've got all of the cheerleaders, and they're saying this is going to be the best thing ever and everybody's going to get rich. And, you know, then you've got folks who are more skeptical — and put me in that camp.”
“But let's find out,” Hawley told Raw Story. “Let's get the data.”
When asked about Musk’s rosy prediction, Democrats are less forgiving.
“That's delusional on where America is right now,” Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) told Raw Story. “We already have a shortage of enough money for people retiring, and that's probably going to last for the next, you know, 20-plus years, 30 years, even if you have a major shift.”
As the ranking member — or top Democrat — on the Senate Commerce Committee, Cantwell’s been negotiating artificial intelligence proposals throughout this 119th Congress. She’s not buying what Musk is selling.
“That's kind of playing with fire,” Cantwell said. “If AI is so smart, why doesn't it help us with the retirement gap that we face today?”
When Raw Story caught up with Cantwell’s counterpart, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-TX), he wasn’t rushing to jump on Musk’s latest AI bandwagon either.
“What do you make of this prediction that Elon Musk is making that we won't need retirement accounts because of AI in the near future?” Raw Story asked. “Are you buying that?”
As he boarded an elevator in the Capitol basement, Cruz nervously smiled as the doors slowly closed on Raw Story.
One of the biggest proponents of digital currencies in Congress, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), is offering different advice than Musk and Bessent.
"I would say save Bitcoin and spend U.S. dollars," Lummis told Raw Story. “Because U.S. dollars are always declining in value by design.”
Lummis offers her own retirement accounts as an example.
“I started putting money in an IRA when I was in my 20s. And when my husband was alive, he also was. And now I have a nest egg that's lost so much value over time because of the decline in the value of the dollar,” Lummis said. “It would have made more sense to wait and not save all those years, because every year that every dollar I saved when I was in my 20s is now worth pennies.”
“So I would say going forward, now that we have Bitcoin, we have an alternative to the dollar. I would say, save Bitcoin and spend dollars, because they're not going to be as worth as much next year as they are this year.”
“Is that what you do personally?” Raw Story inquired.
“Yeah. It's what I do personally,” Lummis, who’s not seeking reelection, said. “Although I can't do any more than I have, because I put what I had in a blind trust. But I'll be gone from here in January, and I'm going to start buying Bitcoin again.”