Bill Gates has called for some jobs to be protected from artificial intelligence and reserved exclusively for humans as he warned that the technology could permanently wipe out roles across the economy.
The Microsoft co-founder has proposed creating a new category of work called “Human Reserved”, where governments and society deliberately decide that jobs should continue to be carried out by people even when AI or robots are capable of replacing them.
Gates said the approach could be used to protect workers from rapid displacement, while some roles in areas such as healthcare should remain human because of the nature of the work.
He said: “I believe that as AI and robots improve, we’ll set aside certain things for only people to do. I’ve started calling this domain Human Reserved, and it’s an example of the kinds of ideas we’ll need to consider.”
Gates said some jobs could be protected immediately, with AI then introduced gradually over years or decades, while education and mental healthcare could operate with humans remaining in charge and using technology to support their work.
In a wide-ranging essay on the economic and social consequences of AI, Gates also called for governments to tax AI tokens and robots to reduce the financial incentive for businesses to replace workers with machines.
He said: “I believe we should tax AI tokens and robots. Right now, if you’re an employer and you hire someone, you pay payroll taxes on their earnings. But if you buy a robot, you can usually write it off right away as a business expense. The tax system nudges you toward replacing people with machines.”
Gates argued that such taxes could slow the displacement of workers while generating money for retraining and stronger social safety nets.
He added: “A tax would slow the rush away from human labour a little and raise money for retraining and a stronger safety net. It would need to be targeted so it does not slow down the purely beneficial uses of AI, like making medicine and education cheaper.”
Gates warned that AI was fundamentally different from previous technological revolutions because it could replace human cognition and be adopted far more quickly, predicting disruption across law, customer service, medicine, software and manufacturing over the next decade.
He said many jobs would “disappear forever”, with entry and mid-level roles particularly exposed, while increasingly capable robots could begin competing with workers in construction and hospitality by the end of the decade.
Gates said: “Market forces will make adoption go faster and faster and, unless we intervene, there will be fewer good jobs available and the benefits will accrue to a small group.”