Bill Gates Claims A.I. Will Replace Humans ‘For Most Things’ Within Next Decade

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates declared that advancements in artificial intelligence will render humans unnecessary “for most things” within the next ten years.

Gates made the claim while speaking with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show. “Everyone’s talking about A.I., and that’s – that’s the big topic, everyone says, ‘how’s it going to take over,’ and all this stuff, and it’s bad, or it’s good, or we don’t know,” Fallon noted. “What are the pros and cons for – in layman’s terms – for someone like me?”

“Yeah, so the era we’ve come to is sort of the vision that computing was expensive, and it basically became free,” Gates replied. “The era that we’re just starting is that intelligence is rare, you know, a great doctor, a great teacher. And with A.I., over the next decade, that will become free [and] commonplace, you know, great medical advice, great tutoring.”

“And it’s kind of profound because it solves all these specific problems, like we don’t have enough doctors or, you know, mental health professionals, but it brings with it – kind of – so much change, you know, what will jobs be like?” he pointed out. “Should we, you know, just work like 2 or 3 days a week?”

“So I love the way it’ll drive innovation forward, but I think it’s a little bit unknown,” Gates stated. “Will we be able to shape it? And so, legitimately, people are like, “Wow, this is — this is a bit scary. It’s completely new territory.”

“I mean, will we still need humans,” Fallon asked him.

“Not for most things,” Gates claimed. “You know, we’ll decide -“

“I mean, hosting a talk show, definitely,” Fallon noted before the audience began laughing.

“Well, we’ll decide, you know,” Gates stated. 

“Like baseball – we won’t want to watch computers play baseball,” he mentioned.

The talk show host agreed with Gates, who then noted that there will be “some things that” human beings can “reserve for” themselves. 

However, he also pointed out that “making things and moving things and growing food over time will be basically solved problems.”

Gates has been in the news frequently in the past year. In September 2024, he spoke out on Today, saying that he was “a subject of misinformation” after reports connected him to Jeffrey Epstein.

In January, Gates stated in an interview with The Times of London that his divorce from Melinda Gates was “the mistake [he regrets] the most.”