Bezos shared these views during a discussion at ‘Tech Week 2025’ in Italy. He noted that people living today have many reasons to be optimistic about the future, as continuous technological progress is creating new possibilities.

Bezos predicts that within the next two decades, millions of people will be living in space. He explained that most will choose to settle there out of personal interest, rather than out of necessity. For tasks requiring work on the lunar surface or elsewhere, robots could be deployed—a far more economical solution than transporting humans to those locations.

“Within the next two decades, millions of people will be living in space—most by choice, not necessity.”

— Jeff Bezos, Tech Week 2025, Italy

Addressing concerns regarding the potential loss of jobs due to artificial intelligence and the future of human civilization, Bezos argued that, on the whole, innovations contribute to the prosperity of society. He pointed out that inventions like the plow, created thousands of years ago, helped improve human life; modern technology, he suggests, will continue this trajectory.

Reality check #1

The plow analogy is a classic: every major technology—from the plow to the printing press to the internet—has displaced some jobs while creating others. The question is not whether AI will change work, but whether the transition will be managed fairly and whether new opportunities reach ordinary people, not just the well-positioned.

Bezos is not alone in his optimism regarding the potential for living and working in space. Sam Altman, head of OpenAI, has predicted that within the next ten years, university graduates will be able to secure new, well-paying jobs in space. According to them, the jobs available to young people in the future will be more engaging than the early-career roles experienced by the previous generation.

Elon Musk, head of Tesla and SpaceX, also advocates for plans to transport humans to other planets. He believes that humans could reach Mars by 2028; meanwhile, there has also been discussion regarding the possibility of conducting test flights for crewed rockets even sooner.

In this context, Dylan Taylor—founder and CEO of Voyager Technologies—remarked to Fortune in August 2026 that human habitation and work in space are not merely a distant dream. He suggested that this development could potentially begin as early as the early 2030s.

Reality check #2

Timelines are the easy part; logistics are hard. Living in space at scale requires life support, radiation shielding, food production, medical care, governance, and a supply chain that doesn’t depend on Earth. The predictions are bold—the engineering is bolder still.

These statements represent the predictions of these business figures regarding the future; however, the technology, costs, and practical arrangements required for large-scale, permanent human settlement in space remain significant challenges.

“The predictions are bold. The technology, costs, and practical arrangements remain significant challenges.”

— The gap between vision and reality
Reality check #3

Optimism from billionaires is not the same as a plan for humanity. The real test of any space-settlement vision is whether it creates broad opportunity, respects planetary boundaries, and addresses the problems we already face on Earth—not just whether it produces a spectacular headline.