Gates calls for government intervention to protect human jobs as AI advances now #
Bill Gates has called on governments rather than technology firms to decide which jobs should stay human as artificial intelligence spreads. In a 6,000-word essay on Gates Notes published on 26 August, the Microsoft co-founder proposed human reserved work.
Societies must set aside some roles for people even when machines can perform them, he argued. 'Many jobs will disappear for ever.'
Why Governments Should Set Human Reserved Jobs #
Gates compared the idea to nature reserves: land that could be developed but is left untouched because the loss would be too great.
Care given to his father, who died of Alzheimer's disease in 2020, shaped the thought. Something in that care was irreplaceably human, he wrote, and no robot could or should have provided it.
A machine might one day deliver a diagnosis of incurable disease, yet it should not. He told reporters that child care and jury service were obvious candidates. Education and healthcare need not ban AI outright; a human could remain in charge while using the tools.
Some protections might be permanent. Others could be temporary for older workers who cannot easily retrain. In an extreme version he could imagine reserving 40 per cent of jobs at first, though that was as high as he could get.
Different countries would draw different lines. Japan, with a shrinking workforce, might welcome caregiving robots that other nations reject.
Who decides, by what criteria, and how firms are stopped from automating around the edges remain open questions.
Taxing Robots and Tokens To Slow Job Losses #
Gates also revived a proposal to tax AI tokens and robots. The present tax system nudges employers towards machines because payroll taxes apply to people while a robot can often be written off at once.
A levy would slow the rush a little and raise funds for retraining and a stronger safety net. White-collar roles in customer support, sales, software engineering and paralegal work face early pressure.
Later waves could reach construction and hospitality. Retraining alone will not suffice once AI substitutes for cognition itself across many sectors at once. Waiting until people are already displaced would be too late.
Companies should not lead the response. 'It is great that some AI companies are proposing solutions to challenges raised by their own technology, but we should not expect them to lead the charge. Some of the issues are outside their area of expertise, and in a democratic society it's not their role to decide these things.'
Institutions Face a Broader Test Than After 9/11 #
The highest priority is a domestic and international framework for AI. After the 11 September attacks the United States undertook its largest governmental reorganisation since the second world war for one function, national security.
AI will require much more, touching employment, education, taxation, energy, elections and public health. It is fair to wonder whether the world's institutions are up to the task.
He plans to raise the issues with lawmakers and hopes to discuss robotics with China's president Xi Jinping.
Governments have yet to set out detailed plans for human reserved occupations. Gates intends to keep pressing the case before unemployment rises sharply.
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