‘We weren’t born to do jobs’: Bill Gates on AI’s impact on work

Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates said jobs are “an artefact of the shortage,” arguing that employment structures exist because of historical labour scarcity. With artificial intelligence (AI) advancing, he believes productivity has reached a point where not everyone needs to work.

Speaking at Express Adda, an event organised by The Indian Express, Gates urged people to rethink traditional ideas of work. “As you move away from human-driven action being a necessity, you get a lot more leisure time, and it becomes almost a philosophical question—a matter of purpose,” he said.

He also challenged the idea that human intelligence must be the primary driver of work. “People who have grown up in a world of scarcity will have to rethink things. Today, we can choose whether a machine or a human performs a task. It’s difficult to reprogramme your brain to this shift,” he added.


Gates’ comments come as AI reshapes industries, raising questions about the future of jobs and the role of human labour in an increasingly automated world.