Jeff Bezos made a surprise appearance at Italy’s Tech Week in Turin last Friday, where he outlined a bold vision that millions could be living in space within decades.
The founder of Amazon and Blue Origin insisted that this trend will be driven primarily by choice, as people seek new frontiers of lifestyle, rather than compulsion. He described a future where robots will take care of the strenuous tasks, enabling human inhabitants to focus on other pursuits while powerful AI data centres orbit the Earth.
In his discussion with John Elkann, the chairman of Ferrari and Stellantis, Bezos stated how advanced robotics will handle the majority of manual labour in space habitats. He emphasised the potential for huge AI-powered data centres to be constructed in orbit, benefitting from continuous solar power without the interruptions caused by weather on Earth.
Bezos also predicted that the cost advantages of space-based data centres could surpass terrestrial ones within 10 to 20 years.
This perspective places Bezos in direct comparison with Elon Musk, who has championed colonising Mars and envisages a self-sustaining city with up to a million residents by 2050. While Musk’s timeline has drawn scepticism, their shared enthusiasm displays a renewed confidence among tech moguls that humanity’s future lies beyond this planet.
Bezos also tackled the contemporary surge of investment in artificial intelligence, describing it as an “industrial bubble” distinct from typical financial bubbles because it rests on substantial technological advancements rather than speculative excess. He acknowledged inflated market valuations but remained optimistic about the immense societal benefits AI promises.
While the idea of millions living in space supported by robotic labour and orbiting data centres may seem visionary today, Bezos’ forecast aligns with an emerging belief in humanity’s capacity to push beyond terrestrial limitations and reshape existence in profound ways over the coming decades.