AI to replace jobs, but you'll get ‘longer' vacations: Bill Gates
Empower your mind, elevate your skills
Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates has delivered a sobering message to Generation Z (Gen Z). It seems that even AI literacy is no longer enough to retain jobs. In a recent CNN interview, Gates cautioned that merely knowing how to use AI tools won't be enough to ensure long-term employment stability.While he described the use of AI as 'fun and empowering', Gates warned that this proficiency, despite the widespread emphasis on digital literacy, is not a safeguard against a pink slip.However, he reiterated that his advice to young people remains unchanged: 'be curious, read and use the latest tools'.Gates acknowledged that while AI can automate simpler coding tasks, more complex work remains out of its reach — for now. He predicted that even blue-collar roles won't be immune for long.'When robotic arms start to be decent, which they're not today, it will start to affect even larger classes of labour [sic],' he noted.Gates framed the rise of AI as a potential positive, despite its challenging effects. He argued that higher productivity could mean more benefits to workers.'If you get more productive, that's good. It means you can free up these people... to have longer vacations or, you know, to help do more. So it's not a bad thing,' he said.Amid concerns about job displacement, especially in white-collar roles, there's fresh interest among Gen Z in blue-collar jobs. A recent survey by résumé company Zety, which polled 1,000 Gen Z workers, found that over half of the respondents are considering skilled trades such as construction, plumbing, or electrical work.This marks a significant departure from previous generations, for whom a university degree was seen as the key to middle-class security.
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