Good News: No One Will Need to Work in the Future

Bill Gates recently stated that with the accelerated development of artificial intelligence, people will eventually only need to work three days a week.

In a recent episode of Trevor Noah's "What Now?" show, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said that with the accelerated development of AI, people will eventually only need to work three days a week, and AI will complete the remaining work, thus freeing up labor.

Gates said, "The purpose of life is not just to work. So, if you end up with a society where you only need to work three days a week or a similar amount of time, it is achievable."

The Rise of Silent Resignation

This year, following part-time work, a new term called "silent resignation" has been coined, where employees only do the bare minimum and no longer make any effort to improve productivity. AI just makes it easier.

Since the beginning of this year, Indian companies have also been asked by their employees to follow a four-day work week, following in the footsteps of the UK, where some companies have already implemented it. Although Gates recommends a three-day work week, this debate has been going on for a long time.

Closer to a relaxed work pace, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said that due to technological advancements, the next generation of workers will only need to work 3.5 days a week and therefore live to be 100 years old.

Similarly, Elon Musk, an advocate for hard work, told UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, "If you want to work for personal enjoyment, you can have a job. But AI can do everything." He also added that this will create a universally higher income.

Unfortunately, many people are just lazy. Following what Gates said years ago, "I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it." Under Satya Nadella's leadership, Microsoft has made everyone lazy, even its own employees.

At Microsoft Ignite 2023, the company's annual developer and IT professional conference, Microsoft's Corporate Vice President of Modern Work and Business Applications, Richard Baldwin, confidently said, "77% of Copilot users have told us that they don't want to go back to working without it."

Richard Baldwin said in a panel discussion at the 2023 World Economic Forum Growth Summit, "AI won't take away your job, but people who use AI will take away your job." And what do you think will happen if AI does everyone's job? There will be many people doing nothing on the beach.

So, How Many Hours Should We Work?

If an entire generation is studying for jobs that don't exist in the future, we may not have any work to do at all. Then the question arises, if AI can replace their jobs, will anyone still want to work? This trend seems to be emerging.

In a discussion on Reddit, people talk about how instead of worrying about AI stealing their jobs, they say, "I hope AI steals our jobs." People are so frustrated with the discussion of working hours that they just want AI to do the work and hope to enjoy doing other things.

"Instead of protesting 'we want to work' and 'AI is stealing our jobs,' why don't we take a book to the park to read? Or have a cocktail on the beach? Or spend time with our loved ones?" a Reddit user said. Although this idea is unrealistic, it doesn't sound too bad.

AI is now starting to make money. For example, a Spanish influencer agency called The Clueless has created a Spanish AI model named Aitana Lopez, who earns over 30,000 rupees per month. So, instead of considering reducing working hours, it may be more necessary to improve skills to compete with AI.

Considering all this, the concept of Universal Basic Income (UBI) seems closer than expected. No one will work, but instead focus on doing better things. As one user pointed out, until "people's desires far exceed the available resources."

Sam Altman's Worldcoin is already underway with the same purpose. Musk has also been a supporter of UBI.