Bill Gates calls for human reserved jobs amid AI workforce changes
Fox News anchor Bret Baier explores how the technology is changing how the world operates on Special Report.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates warned that the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) will present major challenges as it reshapes industries and work, suggesting that it could be helpful to explore ways to reserve work in certain areas for humans to ease the transition.
Gates on Tuesday published an essay on his GatesNotes website that calls for public debate and a plan to manage the technological evolution of AI and its impact on the workforce and society at large, which he said should be a priority given its transformative potential.
“In terms of equity, AI will either be the greatest equalizer ever invented, or the worst source of injustice. The challenge is monumental. Even under the best circumstances, the transition to this new AI era will be one of the most turbulent times in human history,” he wrote.
Gates said there are significant questions about how AI can be deployed in a way that doesn’t widen the divide between the rich and poor, as well as how to best protect those vulnerable to losing their jobs due to AI.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said AI could be a great equalizer or exacerbate inequities between rich and poor. (Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
“I believe that answering these questions and acting on the answers should be the world’s top priority. If the world takes the right steps, AI will be a force for good and leave everyone better off,” Gates wrote.
“Unfortunately, right now we are not preparing for it. I don’t see evidence that leaders, experts and communities are confronting the challenges adequately,” he said. “There is no plan to ease the entry into the AI era.”
Gates said he thinks many commentators are underestimating the scope of the impact AI will have, in part because of current reliability issues, as well as misleading analogies to the impact of past technological innovations because of how much more transformative AI can be.
The billionaire co-founder of Microsoft acknowledged his potential bias toward tech in general and AI given how he made his fortune, along with his ongoing work as chairman of the Gates Foundation that involves AI deployment.
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However, he added that his “views on AI are not motivated by the potential to make more money for myself,” adding that profits generated from his investments will go to the Gates Foundation to tackle inequity.
“For as long as I can remember, I’ve wished innovation could happen faster. With AI, my feelings are more complicated. I wish the world could get the benefits rapidly and delay the problems it will cause as long as possible, but the benefits and problems are arriving at the same time,” Gates wrote.
“I believe we need time…
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