Gates warns society faces an AI-pocalypse unless we get more socialist

Bill Gates thinks that experts underestimate the potential havoc AI will wreak on society and says preparations to ease the transition are inadequate.

The Microsoft founder and former CEO is usually a cheerful proponent of AI tech, talking up its potential to transform healthcare, education, and business productivity.

Yet in a missive posted to his personal website, the billionaire philanthropist says the AI era is likely to be one of the most turbulent times in human history, and how we allow it to play out will determine whether the world becomes a fairer place or if the divide between rich and poor becomes greater than ever.

This kind of talk will sound dangerously close to socialism for many Americans.

There are always winners and losers in a market-led economy, so why should things be any different with AI? Those wealthy enough to invest in it and control it will prosper, as others will find themselves on skid row.

But, Gates says, this time it will be different.

Previous technology transitions happened over several generations and created new jobs where human cognition was required, whereas AI is starting to replace human cognition.

The winners are likely to be a small group of people, and the losers will be everyone else.

It will not affect just one or two sectors, according to the AI fab club: AI will replace human roles in fields as diverse as law, customer services, medicine, software, and manufacturing.

And it will hit these industries rapidly, over the course of a decade or less, rather than taking a few generations.

Gates wrote: There will be some new jobs created, Gates says, but without the right policies in place there will be far fewer than today, and entry-level jobs are among those most likely to vanish (as we're already seeing in the tech industry).

Blue-collar jobs will also be affected, as AI-powered robots are advancing faster than people realize - much of the progress is happening in China.

These may begin to compete with people on some physical tasks, such as in the construction and hospitality industries, within a few years.

Gates says there are several big risks from AI adoption, foremost of which is that many work roles are set to disappear forever.