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What just happened? There are plenty of justifiable concerns over what impact AI will have on the workplace of the near future. Bill Gates is one big tech name who believes the technology will have benefits, though, including a two- or three-day work week in the next decade. That’s probably welcome news for those whose jobs haven’t been replaced by AI, and provided their employers don’t pay them part-time wages.
Speaking to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show recently, Gates predicted a future in which humans will no longer be necessary “for most things” because of advanced AI. It’s a view shared by Elon Musk, who in 2023 told then-UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that artificial intelligence will eventually replace all human jobs as it would be able to “do everything.”
For those who haven’t been replaced, Gates asked, “What will jobs be like? Should we just work like 2 or 3 days a week?”
It’s not the first time that Gates has predicted AI leading to shorter work weeks. He said in 2023 that a three-day work week was possible thanks to a potential future where “machines can make all the food and the stuff, and we don’t have to work as hard.”
Gates highlighted some of the benefits of having more free time, including better help for older people and smaller class sizes.
Others painting a rosier picture of an AI future include JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who said the next generation of workers will have 3.5-day workweeks and live to 100 because of the technology.
Some companies are already moving to four-day workweeks, though it’s usually related to increasing productivity rather than AI.
In Japan, a nation famous for working excessively long weeks, The Tokyo Metropolitan government is experimenting with a four-day workweek. It’s hoped that the change will help the country’s declining population problem by ensuring women do not have to sacrifice their careers due to life events such as childbirth or child-rearing.
Gates also told Fallon that over the next decade, AI will ensure “great medical advice [and] great tutoring” become free and commonplace, which doesn’t sound very promising for health professionals and teachers.
“There will be some things that we reserve ourselves for, but in terms of making things and moving things and growing food – over time, those will be basically solved problems,” Gates said.
Many in the AI industry, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, have warned about the massive impact AI will have on the global workforce. Altman has long pushed for a universal basic income as a solution, while Suleyman said the tools are “fundamentally labor replacing.”
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