Bitkub founder says wage income may have 10 years left
Jirayut says AI now writes and checks code at the company. Many researchers see the same direction but doubt the timing. Here is what is a claim, what is data, and what you can do before 30 November.
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If a salary is your only income, this warning may make you sit up. The founder of Bitkub says the kind of income people have earned for hundreds of years may have only about 10 years left.
Jirayut Srupsrisopa, known as Topp, founder and CEO of Bitkub, said this on stage at TNN Tech Forum 2026 on 28 October at True Digital Park. The clip from TNN Tech has been viewed nearly a million times.
Jirayut cited Elon Musk as a starting point. What Fortune reported Musk saying is "work will be optional", and the outlet put the timing at 10 to 20 years, from the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum, which is a good deal wider than 10 years.
Jirayut splits income into two kinds and says the first is running out
Jirayut divided the money people earn into two piles.
- Labor income: money earned by trading effort and time, such as leaving home for work every morning
- Capital income: money from funds or systems that earn for you, such as investors and business owners
Jirayut said that in about 10 more years, hands-on work will fall to AI, in both manual and office jobs. That is a forecast from Jirayut, not proven data.
What Jirayut says has already happened at Bitkub
The example offered was Jirayut's own company.
- No new hires: no extra staff for about a year, although the company is still growing, Jirayut said
- Output up 700%: 700% more products, or about seven times, with the same people, Jirayut said
- AI writes the code: engineers no longer write code themselves, and AI also checks it, Jirayut said
- AI in every role: no position in the company works without AI now, Jirayut said
These figures are Jirayut's own account, and the talk did not say how they were measured. Picture a team that used to ship one piece of work now shipping seven. That is the claim, but there is no data yet for outsiders to check.
In April 2026, Jirayut also said on the Nui Talk and Chill programme that one in two people could lose their jobs within 5 years, so the timing has not been the same each time.
Researchers see the direction but doubt the timing
The research points different ways, and nobody knows the timing for sure.
- Robots: Ioana Marinescu, an economist at the University of Pennsylvania, told Fortune she agrees with Musk's direction but doubts the timing, because robots are still costly and workplaces are adopting AI more slowly than expected
- US job market: the Yale Budget Lab found in October 2025 that the labour market has shown no clear disruption since ChatGPT launched in 2022, Fortune reported
- Share of work: Daron Acemoglu of MIT forecast in 2024 that within 10 years AI could replace or assist about 5% of all work
- Number of jobs: the Future of Jobs Report 2025 surveyed more than 1,000 employers and expects about 170 million new jobs and about 92 million lost jobs by 2030
Put simply, work will change, but 10 years is a number nobody has proven, and it is worth knowing who is saying it, because Bitkub runs a crypto exchange, which benefits when more people turn to investing.
3 things you can do before anyone knows the answer
You need not wait 10 years to start, and you need not invest anything today.
- Try AI on real work: TH-AI Passport is free for Thais aged 15 and over, and registering by 30 November 2026 gets you the top tier for your first 30 days.
- Practise directing and checking: Jirayut said in April that human work will move from producing things to instructing, reviewing and approving what AI does.
- See where your income comes from: split your own income into these two piles, then study the risks carefully before investing. This story is not investment advice.
FAQ
Will AI really replace all work in 10 years?
Nobody has proven it. Jirayut expects so, while the researchers cited here doubt the timing or estimate a much smaller effect.
How far can you trust Bitkub's 700% figure?
It is a number Jirayut gave on stage, without saying how it was measured, so read it as the company's own account.
What is the difference between labor income and capital income?
Labor income comes from trading effort and time. Capital income comes from money or systems that earn for you, such as investing or owning a business.
Sources
- TNN Tech: Jirayut Srupsrisopa on stage at TNN Tech Forum 2026
- Thailand Exhibition: TNN Tech Forum 2026 AI Warfare
- Fortune: When does Elon Musk say work will be optional
- Siam Blockchain: Topp Jirayut warns AI will take jobs
- THE STANDARD WEALTH: AI can do only 5% of all work
- European Commission Digital Skills and Jobs Platform: Future of Jobs Report 2025
- Wikipedia: Bitkub
