Ben Horowitz, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, has declared that artificial intelligence is poised to transform daily life on a scale comparable to the introduction of electricity. Speaking on a recent episode of the "Ben & Marc Show," Horowitz described AI as a once-in-a-century technological breakthrough, likening its impact to historical milestones such as the steam engine and the electrification of society. “This is on the order of the steam engine or electricity,” Horowitz said, emphasizing that AI represents a shift so profound it will propel humanity into a fundamentally different world. He believes the technology will not only revolutionize industries but also dramatically improve living standards for people across the globe. According to Horowitz, AI will act as a universal problem-solver, tackling long-standing challenges that society has simply learned to accept. These include diseases like cancer, inefficiencies in transportation, and large-scale fraud detection in the United States. The result, he predicts, will be a broad and unprecedented rise in quality of life—so significant that it’s nearly impossible to fully grasp from today’s perspective. “I think life — just the quality of life for everybody — is about to get way, way better than it’s ever been,” Horowitz said. Yet he also issued a warning. If AI removes too much friction from daily existence—eliminating the need for traditional work, struggle, and responsibility—humans may lose a sense of purpose. “The one thing with humans that's a little messed up,” he noted, is that when progress pulls people too far from grounded meaning, shared beliefs, or spiritual anchors, they risk attaching themselves to harmful or irrational ideas. Horowitz’s vision aligns with broader optimism among many Silicon Valley leaders. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and xAI, has suggested AI could lead to a future of universal basic income and the end of poverty. Bill Gates has speculated that AI could enable workweeks as short as a few hours. OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei have acknowledged the existential risks of a post-work society but remain hopeful that humans will adapt and find new sources of fulfillment. However, not all experts share this confidence. Figures like Geoffrey Hinton, often called the “godfather of AI,” UC Berkeley professor Stuart Russell, investor Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital Management, and AI researcher Eliezer Yudkowsky have voiced serious concerns. They warn of widespread job displacement, the erosion of meaning in work, and in extreme scenarios, even existential threats to humanity.