Bill Gates says AI may bring three-day workweeks

Tech pioneer Bill Gates believes artificial intelligence may bring a future where people only need to work three days a week. He stated that during an interview with comedian Trevor Noah on his “What Now?” podcast on November 21, 2023. Gates says AI could make life so much easier that the three-day workweek could become the future global standard. 

You may be skeptical of artificial intelligence’s benefits but already use it daily. Nowadays, the most popular platforms like Google have already integrated AI into their products and services. Tech firms believe this technology may bring a brighter future for humanity, so we should hear how it will achieve this feat from one of the most influential tech experts.

This article will discuss Bill Gates’ statements regarding AI, a three-day workweek, and other predictions in the podcast interview. Later, I will share his previous relevant statements. 

Why does Bill Gates believe in a three-day workweek?

The Microsoft co-founder explained to Trevor Noah he was “mono-maniacal” about building his company. Now that he’s 68, he believes the “purpose of life is not just to do jobs.”

That’s when he made a surprising statement. “So if you eventually get a society where you only have to work three days a week or something, that’s probably okay,” Bill Gates said. 

“The machines can make all the food and the stuff, and we don’t have to work as hard,” he added. Then, he discussed the positive and negative impacts of artificial intelligence.

During his discussion, he mentioned that more companies have been testing four-day workweeks. Also, he cited JP Morgan exec Jamie Dimon’s prediction that the next generation would only need to work three days a week thanks to AI.

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“Your children will live to 100 and not have cancer because of technology, and they’ll probably be working three and a half days a week,” Dimon told Bloomberg. However, more countries worry this technology will take away millions of jobs.

In response, the tech billionaire agreed there would be “displacements, but if they come slow enough, they’re generational.” He added, “You could have had a grandfather who thought the only real job was being on a farm and a father who did some farm work, and now, this generation, only 2% of Americans are involved in any way.”

“If it proceeds at a reasonable pace and the government helps those people who have to learn new things, then it’s all good. But eventually, if you free up human labor, you can help elder people better and have smaller class sizes. The demand for labor to do good things is still there if you match the skills to it.”

What were Bill Gates’ other AI statements?

The computer trailblazer recognizes the benefits and risks of AI despite his glowing predictions. “In the near term, the productivity gain you get from AI is very exciting,” Gates said.

“If you’re programming it will suggest filling things in, or it will help you create tests. It’s taken away part of the drudge work – a doctor who has to fill out paperwork, if the software listens in, it can help write the letters.”

“The big concern is about the generations yet to come when it gets way smarter than it is now, and if a person with mal-intent was using that say for a cyber-attack or a to make a deepfake that makes a politician look like they’re doing something awful.”

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He admitted to news.com.au that he did not anticipate technology’s downsides until the rise of social media. “Until social networking came along, I always thought of computing as helping us be more moral and achieve our highest values,” Gates stated.

“When we made word processor, we thought this allows anybody to express themselves, it’s like they have a big typesetting machine. We never thought they could do really rude documents, it was just about empowerment and productivity.”

“But social networks gave rise to the idea that ‘you could kind of cluster around crazy ideas or hate, and that outrage would get people to click more. That was a huge disappointment to me.’”

Conclusion

Bill Gates recently told in a podcast that artificial intelligence may lead to the world adopting the three-day workweek. He believes it will improve life to such a degree that people worldwide will have more free time to do the things they want.

He acknowledges artificial intelligence’s risks but thinks its benefits are more important. Consequently, he wants global AI development to continue.

Look closely, and you’ll see that the world already entered the age of AI. In response, you should prepare with the latest digital tips from Inquirer Tech.