Business and tech leaders have continued to share diverse views about the future of work as AI adoption accelerates. Elon Musk has painted a future where robots do all the work and humans collect free money for doing nothing. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, however, thinks that won’t be the case.

Speaking on Fox Business on Thursday, Huang pushed back on the utopian notion that artificial intelligence and robotics will usher in mass leisure. Instead, he argued that humans will likely be busier than ever as AI accelerates productivity and unlocks a flood of new opportunities.

The remarks came during a wide-ranging interview in which Huang discussed U.S. tensions over chip sales to China, Nvidia’s success as a $4 trillion company, and warnings from OpenAI’s Sam Altman about a potential AI bubble. Huang dismissed the bubble fears, insisting that demand for AI infrastructure is only in its early stages.

When asked about Nvidia’s Jetson Thor “robot brain” and the future of robotics, Huang predicted a sweeping transformation.

“Everything that moves will be robotic,” he said. “There will be robotic humanoid robots that are very general-purpose. They’re going to be in hospitals doing robotic surgery. They’re going to be in factories building things. They’re going to be in farms doing agriculture. I mean, it’s just incredible the number of robotic systems.”

According to Huang, every industrial company will eventually rely on robots and AI in its operations, with Nvidia supplying much of the technology to power them. He called it a “really exciting future.”

But pressed on whether such productivity gains could mean shorter workweeks or more free time—ideas long tied to visions of technological utopia and more recently promoted by Musk—Huang suggested the opposite may be true.

“I have to admit that I’m afraid to say that we are going to be busier in the future than now,” Huang said. “And the reason for that is because a lot of different things that take a long time to do are now faster to do. And I’m always waiting for work to get done because I’ve got more ideas. Most countries, most companies have more ideas than we know what to pursue.”

While not ruling out a shift to a four-day workweek, he said the real story will be expanding opportunities.

“The more productive we are, the more opportunity we get to go pursue new ideas,” he explained. “I fully expect GDP to grow. I expect productivity to increase. I actually expect us to have more things to do.”

Still, Huang added, “I’m hopeful for that day too—so that we have four-day work weeks, and so that we could spend more time on the weekends with family and get some reading done, and do some traveling. And nothing is better than that.”

Unlike Musk, whose narrative about “universal basic income” requires political change, Huang focused squarely on the technological and economic implications.

“Life quality will get better, of course, over time,” he said, but added that AI is more likely to transform work than abolish it.

Automation Scares Through History

History offers plenty of echoes. In the 19th century, the mechanization of textile factories triggered widespread unrest across Europe, with the Luddites smashing machines they believed threatened their jobs. In the 20th century, the spread of mainframe computers and later PCs sparked similar fears of mass unemployment. But each wave of automation not only eliminated certain tasks but also created new sectors of work that were unimaginable before.

AI, Huang believes, is following that same arc. While some roles will inevitably shrink, others are already emerging around AI model training, ethics oversight, prompt engineering, and integration into existing industries.

“We came from a world of seven-day work weeks. And now we’re in five-day work weeks. Every industrial revolution leads to some change in social behavior,” Huang said. “Some jobs will go away. Many jobs will be new and invented. But one thing for sure, every job will be changed as a result of AI.”

However, with the growing concern of disruption, analysts warn that, unlike past waves, AI’s ability to scale across white-collar jobs may make the transition more jarring. Generative AI is not just reshaping factories, but also the professions once thought safest—law, medicine, finance, and media—making the stakes higher than in previous technology revolutions.

For Nvidia, which dominates the global market for the chips powering AI systems, Huang’s message is also a reminder of the company’s central role in this transformation. Its hardware has become the backbone of generative AI models like ChatGPT, and its outlook on the workforce debate carries weight not just in Silicon Valley but among policymakers grappling with how to balance innovation with social stability.

Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD plunged nearly 8% on Monday after the company reported its first quarterly profit decline in more than three years, underscoring the growing toll of an aggressive domestic price war.

The Tesla rival said net profit for the April-June quarter fell 30% year on year to 6.36 billion yuan ($891 million), according to data from LSEG. This came despite a 14% jump in revenue to 201 billion yuan, buoyed by stronger overseas sales.

In its mid-year filing, BYD acknowledged that “increased price competition and frequent occurrences of excessive marketing” had “exerted an adverse periodic impact on the development of the industry.”

The Chinese EV market has been gripped by successive discount battles since early 2023, as carmakers slash prices to attract buyers in an increasingly crowded field. Retail car prices in China have dropped about 19% over the past two years, now averaging 165,000 yuan ($22,900), according to a Nomura report citing Autohome Research Institute data.

Authorities in Beijing have warned manufacturers against fueling excessive price cuts. In May, regulators pledged to punish companies engaged in “unfair competition,” reflecting official concerns that the race-to-the-bottom threatens the health of the industry.

BYD’s Sales and Production Struggles

While BYD’s first-half results showed resilience — with net profit rising nearly 14% to 15.5 billion yuan and revenue up 23% to 371.3 billion yuan — cracks are emerging in its dominant position.

The company’s production fell for the second straight month in August, marking its first consecutive monthly contraction since 2020. BYD produced 353,090 electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles globally last month, down 3.78% from a year earlier, following a 0.9% drop in July.

China sales fell even more sharply, sliding 14.3% year on year in August to 292,813 vehicles — the fourth consecutive monthly decline. Domestic sales account for nearly 80% of BYD’s total, making the slowdown particularly damaging.

Reuters reported in June that BYD had begun cutting shifts at some factories in China and postponed adding new production lines, signs that the company is recalibrating after years of breakneck expansion.

As of August, BYD had achieved just 52.1% of its full-year sales target of 5.5 million vehicles. Analysts at China Merchants Bank International have since cut their forecast by 5% to 4.9 million, citing the company’s “more cautious” approach to inventory.

EV Shift and Global Expansion

One bright spot has been BYD’s shift away from plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) toward fully electric vehicles. Since April, the company has consistently produced and sold more EVs than PHEVs. In August, EV production rose 26% year on year, while sales jumped 34.4%.

Global markets are also becoming more important to BYD’s growth story. The company has opened showrooms across Europe and rolled out models at competitive prices. In July, BYD registered over 13,000 new vehicles in Europe, up 225% from a year earlier, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.

Still, overseas growth has not fully offset the drag at home. “China remains the backbone of BYD’s business,” one Hong Kong-based analyst told Reuters. “Unless domestic sales stabilize, the company will find it difficult to meet its annual targets despite international expansion.”

The profit drop — the company’s first in three and a half years — is being seen by analysts as a turning point. With cutthroat competition at home, regulatory scrutiny over pricing, and production showing its first signs of contraction since 2020, BYD faces its toughest balancing act yet: protecting profitability without losing its edge in the race for global EV dominance.

One of the most “craziest” CEOs in America in recent memory was the CEO of T-Mobile. John Legere was annoyingly funny. But check his numbers: he rebuilt T-Mobile and redesigned the US telecommunication market. The man will run crazy in front of hotels, attracting attention, just to get local TVs to cover his brand. He pioneered no-contract mobile plans, and did many things that changed how AT&T and Verizon, the industry leaders, engaged with customers.

In Nigeria, Obi Cubana deserves case studies in our business schools. There are many things about his marketing playbook that companies can adopt. His team  went to Scotland and wowed the company board to seal the exclusivity of products in Nigeria. They put on a show and the Scottish press recorded their presence; they brought the deal home.

As you watch this video, think how a company board in Scotland will feel about the readiness of a Nigerian company it wants to do business with. In Harvard Business Review, I wrote that the “The Best Global Leaders are Local Leaders” because every business is local. Yes, demonstrating that native-locality will open doors as you work to reduce inertia to close business deals.

Be more local in your strategy. Do not put a price on your website in USD when you are selling to Nigerians. And do not convert USD with whatever exchange rate they’re using in CBN. Why do we ask learners to pay N120k for Tekedia Mini-MBA when those paying in USD pay $170? Every business is local, and the more you localize, the higher your chance to capture value!