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In the latest episode of his podcast People by WTF, Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath posed a surprisingly personal question to Bill Gates.
“I’m losing out on the whole AI world,” Kamath said. “So I want to go take a job somewhere in the US, or an internship—unpaid. Where would you suggest it? How do I go about being in the forefront of that world, just in terms of learning the implications—not so much the development?”
Gates, clearly amused but thoughtful, replied: “You know, with all your business experience, maybe the OpenAI guys would have some role where you would be super valuable to them, and you’d be getting that exposure. I mean, that’s the most intense—those guys… yeah, it’s wild.”
“They’re very good guys. Boy, are they surfing the wave,” he added, referring to the rapid pace and visibility of the OpenAI team.
The exchange came during a wide-ranging conversation that touched on AI’s impact on work, time, and even the future of purpose. Gates shared his belief that in the next 20–30 years, artificial intelligence will eliminate many traditional scarcities, leading people to rethink why and how they spend their time. “You can retire early, you can work shorter work weeks,” he said. “It’s going to require almost a philosophical rethink.”
Kamath observed that such a shift may lead to a different kind of social hierarchy—one not rooted in traditional work or income. Gates agreed, noting that the idea of total sameness, as imagined in communism, is “pretty unnatural behaviour for humans.”
Elsewhere in the conversation, Gates shared his own mindset: “If you want to work hard and not fool yourself, you better be pretty hard on yourself.”
The episode offers a rare window into two billionaires exchanging views—not just on capital, philanthropy, or AI—but on curiosity, relevance, and staying close to the future.