'Hire the robot, fire the human': Bill Gates's words hint at a bleak future

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has warned that AI will kill most jobs, as it will be "radically cheaper, radically faster, and even more accurate." He said on the "Decoder" podcast that while it will bring "true abundance", the two decades before that happens will be "as tumultuous a period as there's been in human history."

"My big concern is this 20-year transition period, where they'll have winners and losers and a lot of disruption," he said. Gates said that AI will take over white-collar jobs, as telesales, telesupport, and accounting will take a quick hit. The big problem is that not only white-collar jobs are at risk, but blue-collar jobs will also vanish, as humanoid robots will take them over.

Tax AI use

Gates also gave an interview to The Observer, where he said that AI is an evolutionary event. "It’s ‘hire the robot, fire the human and don’t look back’," he said. The Microsoft co-founder said that the government will have to find new sources of income for people who will lose their jobs to AI. He also wants taxes on AI use, something that can likely be called a “token tax”.

The billionaire's warning about AI includes the prediction that by the end of the 2020s, AI will be beyond human control, and will become a bigger problem than bioterrorism and cyberattacks.

The 70-year-old said that in such a state, the billionaires should pay more taxes, adding that he would be willing to pay a little more than double all the tax he has paid till now. Gates has reportedly paid $14bn in tax in his lifetime. However, the government will need to find a way to tax the super-rich people.

Gates reiterated that AI will help in fields like medicine and help with things like drug discovery. But the advancements in technology will be a "real test of quality of government". “You could say this isn’t the best time to say, hey, rich countries, let’s do the hardest thing you’ve ever done,” he said.