Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has named four fields of activity in which, by his assessment, human capabilities will continue to be decisive in the future: programming, biology, energy, and professional sports. At the same time, he warned that AI could transform or eliminate jobs en masse within a decade. Gates spoke on the U.S. late-night program “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
In software development, Gates expects AI systems to take on more and more tasks in the future—from writing code to the automated creation of entire applications. However, the strategic direction of complex development processes and the solution of unforeseen system problems would remain with humans. Pure automation is not enough for that, he said. According to his account, much the same applies to biology: AI can accelerate research processes and serve as an aid, but groundbreaking insights arise from the experience, intuition, and judgment of researchers.
In the energy sector, Gates continues to see a need for specialists for strategic decisions and future scenarios. He cites sports as an example of how certain fields lose their appeal when machines replace humans—baseball-playing robots would move no one.
The entrepreneur, who founded Microsoft with Paul Allen in 1975 and stepped back from day-to-day operations in 2008, has long warned about the social consequences of technology. Within a decade, AI could cause significant job losses, according to his forecast. He calls for a tax on AI systems and robots to cushion the social consequences, and he wants to reserve certain professions for humans.
As central risks, Gates cites not only permanent job losses but also AI-supported cyberattacks, bioterrorism, and the possibility that systems could one day act against humanity’s interests. In a post on his blog “Gates Notes” dated August 26, 2026, he described the transition into the AI age as “one of the most turbulent phases in human history,” while at the same time acknowledging that the technology, if used responsibly, could benefit everyone. He no longer considers voluntary self-regulation by the tech industry sufficient; he demands binding legal guardrails.
The personnel policy of the company he founded adds further fuel to the debate. According to a report by Business Insider, Microsoft is reviewing a voluntary early-retirement program for roughly 60,000 employees in countries such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and India, coupled with financial incentives and retraining offers. Such programs are part of routine reorganization and do not prove a direct connection to technological substitution.
For the labor market, the debate signals a shift: while routine tasks in manufacturing, logistics, and agriculture are increasingly automated, the value of human labor is shifting toward oversight, judgment, and responsibility. According to Gates, policymakers must decide which activities they want to preserve for humans regardless of the performance capacity of machines. For companies, this means growing pressure to restructure qualifications and to price in regulatory requirements that so far exist only as discussion proposals.