You’re settling in to watch some late-night TV, maybe The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Then, tech mogul and philanthropist Bill Gates drops a prediction that might make you sit up a little straighter. Appearing on the show back in February 2025, Gates shared his thoughts on the future of artificial intelligence, and his vision is quite something. 

He suggested that within the next decade–yes, just ten short years–AI could step into the roles of many highly skilled professionals. His comments didn’t stop there; he proposed that this technological wave might mean humans become unneeded for many current tasks. It’s a bold statement from someone at the forefront of the personal computer revolution.

Which Jobs Does Gates Think AI Will Take Over Soon?

So, which careers does Gates see AI moving into? He specifically pointed towards doctors, teachers, and mental health professionals. His reasoning centers on the idea of intelligence itself becoming widely accessible. Think about the knowledge and skills a great doctor or an inspiring teacher possesses – Gates believes AI is on track to replicate that kind of high-level cognitive ability and offer it for free, making it commonplace. 

He presented this as a potential solution to persistent problems, like the shortage of medical practitioners or mental health support in many areas. Imagine getting quality medical advice or personalized tutoring readily available through an AI assistant. That’s the future Gates is sketching out.

Gates on Why AI Changing Work is Both Exciting and Worrying

While readily available expertise sounds appealing, Gates didn’t paint a purely rosy picture. He acknowledged that this kind of shift brings enormous change and stirs up some big questions. If AI can perform these complex jobs, “What will jobs be like?” he pondered on the show. He even floated the idea of society shifting to much shorter workweeks, two or three days long, because AI would handle so much of the labor. Gates expressed his fascination with how AI will push innovation forward, but he also admitted the path ahead is “a little bit unknown.” He recognized why people feel apprehensive, stating, “legitimately, people are like, ‘Wow, this is a bit scary.’ It’s completely new territory.” There’s a mix of promise and apprehension surrounding this technological leap.

If AI Does Everything, What Will People Do? Gates’ Take

This naturally leads to Fallon’s question: “Will we still need humans?” Gates’ response was quite direct: “Not for most things.” It’s a statement that certainly gives pause. However, he followed up by suggesting that humanity will ultimately decide what roles remain reserved for people. His example? Baseball. He doubts we’d want to watch computers play; the human element is the point. So, while AI might take over the tasks of production – “making things and moving things, and growing food,” which he described as problems that will be “basically solved” over time – people will likely hold onto activities they value for reasons beyond pure efficiency, like sports, arts, and community roles. We’ll draw the line where we want human connection and experience to remain central.

Where Gates Sees AI Helping Us

Despite the potentially unsettling predictions about the job market, Gates maintains a hopeful stance about AI’s broader effects. When Fallon asked what fuels his optimism, Gates pointed squarely at two major areas where he anticipates AI making enormous positive contributions. First is health. He spoke about the potential for breakthroughs in treating conditions that have long challenged medical science, mentioning Alzheimer’s disease and the ongoing effort to eradicate polio as examples. Second is the climate. He sees AI as a powerful tool for driving the innovation needed to address global environmental challenges. Gates suggested his positive outlook comes partly from his unique position, stating he gets to see the “innovation pipeline” up close, giving him confidence that “there’s a lot of great stuff coming along.”

Why Gates is Thinking About AI’s Future Right Now

It’s worth noting the setting for these pronouncements. Gates was on The Tonight Show primarily to talk about his debut memoir, Source Code. This book delves into his childhood, upbringing, and early experiences that led him to co-found Microsoft. He mentioned to PEOPLE magazine that the upcoming confluence of personal and organizational milestones – turning 70, Microsoft turning 50, and the Gates Foundation turning 25, all in 2025 – prompted him to reflect on his journey and the “digital revolution” he helped spark. This period of looking back seems to have also spurred his thinking about the next major technological wave and its potential consequences for society.

Could We Really Work Just 2 Days a Week Because of AI?

When Bill Gates talked on The Tonight Show about artificial intelligence potentially stepping into professional roles like doctors and teachers, it wasn’t just about which jobs might change. He also touched upon how work itself might transform. As he considered a future where AI handles many tasks currently done by people, he raised some pretty big questions about our daily lives.

One of the most intriguing thoughts he shared was about the structure of our work schedules. If AI substantially increases productivity and takes over many necessary functions, would we still need the traditional five-day workweek? Gates floated the possibility aloud, asking, “What will jobs be like?” and “Should we just work like two or three days a week?”

The idea stems directly from the potential efficiency gains AI could bring. If software and robots handle manufacturing, logistics, administration, and even some intellectual tasks, the amount of human labor required to keep society running might decrease dramatically. This would allow us to rethink our time, perhaps dedicating less to formal employment and more to personal interests, family, or community activities.

Gates presented this shorter workweek not as a definite forecast, but as one of the profound possibilities that arise when a technology like AI promises such broad changes. It’s part of the “And so, legitimately, people are like, ‘Wow, this is a bit scary.’ It’s completely new territory,” he mentioned – exciting to consider, yet wrapped up in the broader uncertainty of how exactly society will adapt to machines taking on so much work. The two-day week remains a speculative idea, but one prompted by the potentially massive shift in productivity that AI could unlock.

Getting Ready for the AI-Powered Future: Gates Predicts

Bill Gates has laid out a vision where artificial intelligence doesn’t just assist humans; it actively replaces them in many professional capacities within a decade. He sees intelligence becoming abundant and cheap, reshaping work, potentially freeing human time, and creating deep uncertainty. While he foresees AI handling much of the world’s production and logistics, he remains optimistic about its power to solve significant health and environmental problems. Coming from someone who has witnessed and shaped massive technological shifts, his predictions suggest we may be standing at the edge of another profound transformation in how we live and work. According to Gates, the next ten years could look very different.