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| Image Credits:Emma McIntyre/WireImage |
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos made a rare public appearance at Italian Tech Week in Turin, using the spotlight to present a bold vision: he expects millions of people will live in space in the not-too-distant future. During his conversation with John Elkann, a member of Italy’s Agnelli family, Bezos said this shift could take place within a couple of decades.
Bezos, who also founded the space company Blue Origin, emphasized that people will choose to live in space “because they want to,” confident that robots will handle much of the heavy lifting. Meanwhile, vast floating data centers powered by artificial intelligence would orbit overhead, enabling connectivity and infrastructure in space.
This wasn’t the first time a Silicon Valley titan has floated this idea. Elon Musk has long predicted that humanity’s future lies on Mars, even suggesting a million people might colonize the Red Planet by 2050. Bezos’ comments, though, shift the focus toward near-Earth space orbiting habitats, moving cities, and a new chapter for Earth’s descendants.
The Role of AI, Robotics & Infrastructure
Bezos strongly defended the current surge in AI investment as an “industrial bubble,” arguing it differs significantly from a speculative financial bubble. He believes AI will play a foundational role in space development, powering autonomous robots to build and maintain habitats, handle tasks like mining or manufacturing, and support life systems in zero gravity.
His vision includes floating AI data centers that would provide connectivity to space communities and Earth alike, making communication seamless and reliable. By relying on advanced robotics, humans would be freed from laborious, low-level tasks and able to focus on creativity, governance, and culture.
Why Orbit, Not Mars (Yet)?
Bezos’ projection is less about Martian colonies and more about orbital living space cities that circle Earth. There are compelling reasons for this direction:
- Lower energy costs: Reaching Mars requires massive fuel, long travel, and sustained life support systems. Orbit is far closer and more energy-efficient.
- Proven logistics: We already send humans, supplies, and satellites into low Earth orbit regularly.
- Scalable expansion: You can build ring habitats, rotating cities, or cluster modules outward from Earth.
Still, there are enormous challenges radiation exposure, microgravity effects, life support systems, and the cost of launch. But pro-space organizations and governments are already researching modular habitats, radiation shielding, closed-loop ecosystems, and in-space manufacturing to help overcome these hurdles.
Implications for Earth and Humanity
If even a fraction of Bezos’ vision comes true, the consequences could be transformative:
- Population pressure relief: Earth’s overpopulation and land scarcity could ease if some portion of humanity migrates to orbit.
- Valuable new markets: Space tourism, resource mining, solar power satellites, and orbital manufacturing could become major economies.
- New governance models: Space cities will demand fresh laws, ethics, and shared management beyond Earth’s nation-state systems.
- Earth backup plan: In a worst-case scenario (climate change, asteroid threats, global catastrophes), off-Earth living provides a safeguard for human civilization.
Bezos’ confidence underscores a broader optimism in tech circles: that the building blocks — AI, robotics, launch tech, materials science are converging at the right time. If momentum holds, orbital living might not be a science fiction dream but a bold human milestone in our lifetime.
As we move forward, keeping an eye on Blue Origin’s advances, NASA’s projects, and private companies developing habitat modules will be crucial. The path to millions in space may still be steep, but Bezos is laying down the roadmap and it might be just around the corner.
Curious to know more about space infrastructure and orbital cities? Check my article on the future of space infrastructure for deeper insights.