Bill Gates believes artificial intelligence (AI) will change the world in the next decade, making human workers unnecessary for most tasks.
Speaking on The Tonight Show in February, he told Jimmy Fallon, “With AI, over the next decade, that will become free, commonplace—great medical advice, great tutoring.” He called this shift “free intelligence.”
The biggest concern with AI is job replacement. Some experts believe AI will help workers and create new opportunities, but others, like Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, argue it will “fundamentally” change industries and have a “hugely destabilizing” impact on the workforce. Gates acknowledges this but believes certain jobs will always remain human.
“There will be some things we reserve for ourselves. But in terms of making things and moving things and growing food, over time those will be basically solved problems,” he told Fallon.
Gates has been predicting AI’s impact for years. At a 2017 event with Warren Buffett, he called AI “a really profound” technology.
He pointed to Google DeepMind’s AI, which defeated human players in Go, as a major milestone. Even he was surprised by AI’s speed of progress.
In 2023, he challenged OpenAI to create an AI that could pass a high school AP Biology exam, expecting it to take years. “They finished it in just a few months,” he later wrote.
“It’s very profound and even a little bit scary—because it’s happening very quickly, and there is no upper bound.”
Despite concerns, Gates sees AI as a massive opportunity. If he were starting a company today, he told CNBC Make It in 2024, it would be AI-focused. “Today, somebody could raise billions of dollars for a new AI company [that’s just] a few sketch ideas,” he said.
Encouraging young innovators, he added, “Hey, here’s the frontier. Because you’re taking a fresher look at this than I am, and that’s your fantastic opportunity.”
Gates acknowledges AI’s risks, such as misinformation, but remains optimistic. “Breakthrough treatments for deadly diseases, innovative solutions for climate change, and high-quality education for everyone” are just some of the benefits he envisions.
AI is advancing faster than expected, and Gates’ vision of an AI-powered future is quickly becoming reality.
