Bill Gates pushes robot tax and ‘Human Reserved’ jobs to blunt AI job losses
- Bill Gates has called for robot and AI taxes to blunt AI Job losses.
- The tech billionaire also said certain jobs must be “Human Reserved.”
- Gates says the proposals could help reserve 40% of jobs, and that “as high as I can get.”
The billionaire and Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates, has backed ongoing calls for a robot tax and also proposed that certain jobs be set aside as “Human Reserved.”
In a new essay on his Gates Notes blog, he argues that the proposals are meant to help workers who may lose jobs to AI in the next decade.
Gates says this is important now because more people are worried about automation, and he is confident that AI will hurt employment.
The tax loophole Bill Gates says favors machines
Bill Gates pointed out a problem with how companies are taxed. When a company hires a person, it pays payroll taxes. But if it buys a robot, the cost can often be written off right away as a business expense.
According to him, that difference means “the tax system nudges you toward replacing people with machines.”
He argues that direct taxes on AI tokens and robots preserve human jobs while generating government revenue. As automation reduces the workforce, income tax revenues fall while social security and retraining costs rise.
However, Gates stresses that these taxes must be targeted so they don’t hinder beneficial AI applications, such as lowering costs in education and healthcare.
What a ‘Human Reserved’ job would mean
Gates’ second proposal is to keep some jobs for people, even if machines could do them.
Some jobs would always be for humans, according to him. He mentioned a few, including childcare and jury service, as examples of work that people do better.
In medicine, Gates says a machine could give a terminal diagnosis, but it should not. He suggests that in education and healthcare, some tasks should stay with people, but AI should not be banned completely from these fields.
Gates says his plan would protect up to 40% of jobs, which he says is “as high as I can get.” That somewhat suggests the rest of the jobs could be open to change by the AI and robots.
In other news, the impact of AI on jobs is already being felt across industries worldwide. Earlier this year, Cryptopolitan cited a Morgan Stanley report showing that British companies are shedding more jobs than they’re creating due to artificial intelligence.
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FAQs
What is Bill Gates proposing to slow AI job losses?
Gates is calling for a tax on robots and AI tokens plus a "Human Reserved" designation that would keep certain jobs for people even where AI could do them.
Why does Gates say the tax system favors robots over workers?
Because employers pay payroll taxes when they hire a person but can typically write off a robot as a business expense right away, which Gates says nudges companies toward replacing people with machines.
Which jobs does Gates expect AI to eliminate first?
He named customer support, software engineering, and paralegal work as the roles most likely to vanish soonest, with construction and hospitality shifting toward automation by the end of the decade.
Ibiam Wayas
Ibiam Wayas has covered the crypto news beat since 2019. He studied Computer Science at National Open University of Nigeria. His work has appeared on various crypto news platforms, including Coinfomania, Crypto News Australia, and AltcoinBuzz. Drawing on his background in Computer Science, he now focuses on crypto, robotics, and longevity news.
