Bill Gates predicted that advancements in artificial intelligence will significantly reduce humanity’s role in many traditional tasks such as medicine and education — and the seismic shift could happen in less than 10 years. During a recent interview with comedian Jimmy Fallon on NBC’s “The Tonight Show,” the Microsoft co-founder described a future where humans are no longer necessary “for most things” because AI technology will readily perform tasks that currently require specialized human skills. Today, expertise in fields such as medicine and education remains “rare,” Gates said, adding that those areas depend on “a great doctor” or “a great teacher.”
But over the next decade, “great medical advice [and] great tutoring” will become free and commonplace, Gates said. Gates further elaborated on this vision of a new era he terms “free intelligence” in a conversation last month with Arthur Brooks, a Harvard professor known for his research on happiness. AI technology will increasingly permeate daily life, revolutionizing areas from healthcare and diagnosis to education — with AI tutors becoming broadly available, the mogul predicted. “It’s very profound and even a little bit scary — because it’s happening very quickly, and there is no upper bound,” Gates told Brooks. There is considerable debate about the future roles humans will play in an AI-driven society. While some analysts suggest AI will primarily help mankind become more productive and potentially create new economic opportunities and employment, others express concern about job stability.
Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman believes that the transformation of work by AI will have a “hugely destabilizing” impact. In his 2023 book, “The Coming Wave,” Suleyman writes: “These tools will only temporarily augment human intelligence. They will make us smarter and more efficient for a time, and will unlock enormous amounts of economic growth, but they are fundamentally labor replacing.” Despite acknowledging potential disruptions, Gates remains optimistic about AI’s positive contributions, including breakthroughs in medical treatments, climate solutions and widespread education.
Nonetheless, he recognizes certain activities will always remain human-specific. “There will be some things we reserve for ourselves,” Gates told Fallon, citing entertainment activities as examples. “But in terms of making things and moving things and growing food, over time those will be basically solved problems.”
Still, Gates acknowledges legitimate concerns surrounding AI’s rapid development — highlighting its propensity for errors and misinformation online in a 2023 blog post. But the billionaire said that if he were to launch a startup today, he would pursue an “AI-centric” venture. “Today, somebody could raise billions of dollars for a new AI company [that’s just] a few sketch ideas,” Gates told CNBC’s “Make It” last September.
Gates said he wanted to encourage the next generation, adding: “I’m encouraging young people at Microsoft, OpenAI, wherever I find them: ‘Hey, here’s the frontier.’ Because you’re taking a fresher look at this than I am, and that’s your fantastic opportunity.”
Gates has anticipated AI’s revolutionary potential for nearly a decade.
In 2017, he highlighted Google’s DeepMind as a “profound milestone,” marveling at its capacity to outperform humans in the complex board game Go.
Gates has admitted that recent breakthroughs surpassed even his expectations.
