As co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates was one of the architects of the technological revolution that made the mantra of “a computer on every desk and in every home” a reality. Now, the millionaire is a mere spectator (front row, that is) about the evolution and repercussions of AI in the short and medium term.
Gates was the guest on the latest episode of the podcast ‘Possible’ from LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, where the millionaire explained his vision of the transformative potential of AI agents in the workplace. According to Bill Gates, the emergence of AI tools will radically change the way we work.
From the office to the factory. Bill Gates highlighted his surprise at the pace at which AI applications were being implemented in real solutions for companies in the so-called “white collar employees” who perform administrative and office jobs. “AI is making things easier for those who are in offices writing legal reports or diagnoses,” Gates said during his interview.
Gates was convinced that this impact would also affect the “blue collar employees” who are on assembly lines in the manufacturing industry in less than five years. “‘Blue collar’ robots are already being implemented in construction, in restaurant delivery and services or cleaning rooms,” said the millionaire. This change not only raises questions about job stability, but opens a debate about how people will adapt to this new environment.
Towards a new era of personalized AI agents. Reflecting on the maxim of “a computer on every desk and in every home” from the early days of Microsoft, the millionaire assures that artificial intelligence will also spread among users. In his comments, Bill Gates aligns himself with Microsoft’s latest movements, ensuring that each person will have their personalized artificial intelligence agent.
Gates explained that, thanks to the use of natural language, these agents will be able to perform complex and specific tasks without the need for customized software. “The idea is that you can sit down and have a dialogue about data in a very rich way. We will all have an agent that helps us get things done… your agent can determine which parts are important enough for you to take the time to understand,” commented Bill Gates during his speech.
The impact of AI on employment. Bill Gates’ words put back on the table the warnings of some of the main architects of current AI such as Sam Altman, who predicted an enormous impact on employment. According to a survey carried out by the employment platform ResumeBuilder at the end of 2023, 37% of companies that already use AI say that the technology has already replaced some of their employees. 44% of the 750 companies consulted were convinced that AI was going to cause layoffs in 2024.
Reid Hoffman, co-founder of the most important professional social network today, agrees with the diagnosis made by Sam Altman during his visit to the podcast ‘Unconfuse Me‘ by Bill Gates: work as we know it today will not exist in a decade, but during that period, current jobs will improve in productivity.
Data points to big changes. Various studies have been published by European organizations that try to evaluate the scope of the impact of AI on labor matters. They all agree with the forecasts of Bill Gates, Sam Altman and Reid Hoffman when stating that AI will bring improvements in productivity and great changes in employment.
The report’Generative AI and the future of work in America’ prepared by McKinsey, estimates that almost 12 million American workers could need to change jobs by 2030 motivated, directly or indirectly, by the arrival of AI.
The European Central Bank suggests in its study ‘New Technologies and Jobs’ in Europe “neutral to slightly negative effects on workers’ income” due to the arrival of AI in their work environments. On a more local note, the study ‘AI and the labor market in Spain’ by Randstad estimates that AI will destroy about two million jobs, but will create 1.6 million, so the impact leaves a balance of 400,000 fewer jobs in Spain.
In WorldOfSoftware | “I have three years of work left”: more and more AI managers believe that AI will end up taking their jobs
Imagen | Unsplash (Arif Riyanto), Flickr (The Aspen Institute)
