Money Is a Database: Energy, Compute, and Life After the Paycheck

Elon Musk has been arguing that money is just an information system for allocating labor, and that once AI and humanoid robots push the cost of work toward zero, the only real constraints left are kilowatt-hours and raw compute. Daniel and Emily stress-test the physics, the fiat question, universal high income, and what an ordinary person could actually own or live for in a post-scarcity economy. ## Hosts ### Daniel Altman Daniel Altman is a computer scientist and AI strategist with a background in engineering, quantitative research, and emerging technologies. He studies how technological breakthroughs reshape industries, markets, work, and human capabilities. ### Emily Carter Emily Carter is a business strategist and former technology product leader with experience building digital products and studying how innovation reaches millions of users. She focuses on AI adoption, business transformation, work, education, entrepreneurship, and leadership. ## Sources - https://x.com/elonmusk/status/money-compute-energy-post-scarcity ## Episode Information Language: en Published: 2026-09-12T21:14:00.737583+00:00