Part 4/10:
Musk references the infamous population bomb predictions from the 1960s, particularly the predictions made by Stanford biologist Dr. Paul Ehrlich. Ehrlich believed humanity was doomed to face mass starvation and societal collapse within decades, particularly emphasizing the potential disappearance of nations and the breakdown of societal systems due to overpopulation.
Contrasting with these fears, current data contradicts overpopulation concerns; instead, the opposite trend—population decline—is unfolding in many developed countries. Musk notes that projections by the United Nations have been remarkably accurate in estimating global stabilization of population numbers, primarily due to decreasing birth rates in developed nations.