Bill Gates Fears ‘Robots’ Will Soon Take Over Many Low Skilled Jobs
Bill Gates believe that neither the federal government nor the American people are prepared for the sweeping changes that will soon be occurring in the labor market. If the Microsoft giant is right, “software substitution” will one day soon replace the need for a significant chunk of the labor force.
Over the course of the next two decades software substitution or automation, will replace a plethora of lower skilled occupations, according to Bill Gates. “Software substitution, whether it’s for drivers or waiters or nurses … it’s progressing. Technology over time will reduce demand for jobs, particularly at the lower end of skill set. 20 years from now, labor demand for lots of skill sets will be substantially lower. I don’t think people have that in their mental model,” he said.
The richest man in the world offered some suggestions how the United States can “get ahead” of the software substitution model – but not avert it. Gates suggests that tax codes be altered to encourage companies and businesses to hire actual human beings as employees. To push employers to keep waitresses inside restaurants instead of using an app on a smart phone to place orders, for example, Bill Gates thinks the federal government should do away with payroll taxes and income taxes entirely. Libertarians who have been pushing for a flat tax and the abolishment of the IRS would likely agree with this approach.
The Microsoft founder shared his worries about “bots” taking of low-paying jobs in the United States during an American Enterprise Institute economic think tank event in Washington, D.C. earlier this week. Gates is certainly not the only one claiming that software automation and robots will steal jobs from humans in the coming years.
A report in the Economist listed more than one dozen jobs in the labor market that are likely to disappear. The list included accountants, telemarketers, retail workers, real estate agents, machinists, technical writers, word processors, economists, health technologists, dentists, recreational therapists, and athletic trainers.
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Gates is continuing his vocal opposition to raising the minimum wage. He, like many Libertarians and Republicans, firmly believe that if President Barack Obama is successful in this quest, employers will stop hiring many new workers. In addition to a hiring freeze, extensive layoffs or hourly cuts could also occur.
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Many businesses, in Ohio for example, started hiring new employees at less than 30 hours to avoid looming Obamacare mandates. “When people say we should raise the minimum wage I worry about what that does to job creation. Potentially damping demand in the part of the labor spectrum that I’m most worried about,” Bill Gates said.
[Images Via: Eater – Voice of America – Hometone – J_Stone/Shutterstock]
