Bill Gates sees a future where AI frees humans from daily toil

Bill Gates, during an appearance on Trevor Noah's podcast "What Now?", discussed the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on society. Gates suggested the idea of a future where machines take on daily tasks, allowing humans to work less. Reflecting on his own life, Gates acknowledged his previous intense focus on building Microsoft but now, at 68, realizes that the "purpose of life is not just to do jobs."

“If you eventually get a society where you only have to work three days a week or something, that’s probably OK,” the billionaire founder of Microsoft told Noah.

“The machines can make all the food and the stuff and we don’t have to work as hard.”


Gates has previously discussed both the risks and benefits of AI, emphasizing the need to manage challenges such as “misinformation and deep fakes, security threats, changes to the job market, and the impact on education.”

“This is not the first time a new technology has caused a big shift in the labor market. I don’t think AI’s impact will be as dramatic as the Industrial Revolution, but it certainly will be as big as the introduction of the PC,” he wrote on GatesNotes.

Bill Gates remains optimistic about managing AI's impact on society.

"The risks are real, but I am optimistic that they can be managed," he added.