Bill Gates says world unprepared for ‘turbulent AI era’

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has issued a warning about the rapid impact of artificial intelligence on the U.S. job market. In his new essay, Gates argues that AI will transform the economy at an unprecedented rate, posing significant risks to millions of jobs. The technology is advancing faster than any previous technological revolution, leaving less time to prepare for employment disruptions.

AI is expected to take on roles in various sectors, including law, customer service, medicine, software, and manufacturing. While some new jobs may emerge, without the right policies, there could be far fewer jobs than currently exist. Gates expresses particular concern about the potential for AI to compete with human cognitive abilities, as its reasoning skills improve.

This could lead to companies having fewer economic incentives to maintain human labor, especially in white-collar professions. Moreover, Gates warns that AI could soon perform physical work as well as humans, impacting blue-collar jobs in industries like construction and hospitality. To mitigate the impact of AI on jobs, Gates suggests implementing a tax on AI tokens and robots, which would discourage the displacement of human workers.

He also advocates reserving certain jobs, such as caregiving, for people, emphasizing that humans are better equipped to handle specific responsibilities compared to robots.