Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has proposed reserving some jobs exclusively for humans as artificial intelligence and robots become more capable.
He also suggested taxing AI and robots to help manage the impact of automation on workers and the wider economy.
Gates made the proposals in a more than 6,000-word essay titled “The turbulent AI era is here. The choices we make now are critical.”
He published the essay on his Gates Notes website on Wednesday.
Gates said AI could fundamentally change how people work, earn money and organise society.
Gates Calls for ‘Human Reserved’ Jobs
Gates proposed creating a category of jobs that would remain exclusively for humans.
He called the idea “Human Reserved”.
He said his experience caring for his father helped shape the proposal.
Gates’ father died of Alzheimer’s disease in 2020. During the later stages of his illness, paid caregivers looked after him around the clock.
“My dad died of Alzheimer’s in 2020. In the later stages of his illness, he was cared for day and night by paid caregivers who understood him even when he struggled to express himself,” Gates wrote.
“He couldn’t always tell them when he was hungry, but they always knew.”
Gates said the experience showed him that some forms of care contain qualities machines cannot replace.
“Something in the care they gave my dad was irreplaceably human. No robot could or should have done it,” he wrote.
He said some jobs could remain human-led even when technology becomes capable of doing them.
“I believe that as AI and robots improve, we’ll set aside certain things for only people to do,” Gates wrote.
Why Some Jobs Could Stay Human
Gates said governments could reserve certain occupations for people to prevent mass unemployment.
He pointed to workers who may find it difficult to switch careers after decades in one profession.
“You can’t tell a 55-year-old who has worked in construction their whole career that they need to go work at an elder care facility and expect them to find it fulfilling,” he wrote.
However, Gates said economic concerns would not be the only reason to protect certain jobs.
He also pointed to situations where human interaction remains important.
“In health, for example, imagine a robot giving you the awful news that you have an incurable disease. There’s no technical reason why it couldn’t. Yet it shouldn’t,” he wrote.
AI Could Work Alongside Humans
Gates believes some industries will combine human workers with AI rather than replace people completely.
He identified education and mental healthcare as examples.
“The Human Reserved domain will evolve over time,” Gates wrote.
He suggested that some jobs could face a gradual transition to AI over several years or decades.
“Some areas, like education and mental health care, will be a mix, with a human in charge who’s using the technology to extend what they can do,” he added.
Gates also said countries could make different decisions based on their needs.
He used Japan as an example because of its shrinking workforce and ageing population.
“Some countries might insist on having humans take care of the elderly,” he wrote.
“But a country like Japan, which has a shrinking workforce and not enough young people to care for the old, may welcome a caregiving robot.”
Gates Raises Questions About AI Regulation
Gates acknowledged that his proposal would create difficult questions for governments and businesses.
He questioned who should decide which jobs remain exclusively human and what criteria should guide those decisions.
He also asked how governments could prevent companies from secretly using robots in jobs reserved for people.
Another concern is international trade.
Gates noted that countries could adopt different rules, with some allowing robots to perform certain jobs while others prohibit them.
The proposals come as governments and businesses continue to debate how to manage AI’s growing impact on employment.
For Gates, the challenge is not simply deciding what AI can do. It is also deciding what society should allow machines to do.
