Bill Gates says robots that take your job should pay taxes too — after claiming AI will replace humans for most things

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Beyond concerns about safety and privacy, many people are worried about losing their jobs as generative AI becomes more advanced and widespread. In recent years, companies have quickly adopted this technology, either to make their employees more efficient or to automate tasks previously done by people.

Despite warnings of a potential AI bubble and concerns that progress is slowing due to a shortage of good training data, major companies like Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft continue to heavily invest in the technology. This investment is happening even with the extremely high costs of electricity, computing power, and cooling systems needed to run these AI models.

Before OpenAI released its new GPT-5 (which many found disappointing), Bill Gates, Microsoft’s co-founder, suggested that OpenAI’s GPT technology had stopped making significant improvements. He also believes AI will eventually be able to do most jobs people currently do, but some things, like playing baseball, are best left to humans.

There’s growing worry about how artificial intelligence will affect jobs, particularly after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei suggested AI could eliminate as many as half of all beginner-level office jobs.

Interestingly, Bill Gates has offered a thought-provoking idea about the future of work with AI. In a 2017 interview, he proposed that if robots and AI start taking jobs from people, a ‘robot tax’ could be a solution.

Currently, a factory worker earning around $50,000 a year has their income taxed – things like income tax and social security. It seems logical that if a robot were to take over that same job, we should tax the robot in a similar way.

Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates.

Gates suggested that we may need to increase taxes and potentially slow down the pace of automation. He explained that automation is happening quickly, and we urgently need plans to help workers who lose their jobs as a result. He warned that many jobs could be replaced by automation all at once.

Bill Gates believes that AI could soon automate jobs like truck driving and warehouse work. He suggests the government should prepare for this by strengthening support for seniors and people with disabilities, and by investing more resources into education.

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2025-11-24 15:39