Let's have a real talk about the future of our workweek. Imagine only clocking in for three days. Sounds like a daydream, doesn’t it? But guess what? Bill Gates, yes, the tech mogul himself, sees this as our possible future. He spilled these thoughts on Trevor Noah's podcast, "What Now?". The big question they chewed over: will artificial intelligence (AI) snatch our jobs? Gates has a different spin. He sees a time where artificial intelligence (AI) could lighten our workload. Three days of work a week? That's not so outlandish, he suggests.
Think about it. Machines doing the grunt work isn't about stealing our roles. It's more like handing us the gift of time. Time to live more, work less. Gates isn't talking about a lazy future, but a balanced one. A world where our lives don't revolve solely around work.
Here's what Gates said in his own words:
"If you zoom out, you know the purpose of life is not just to do jobs, so if you eventually get a society where you only have to work three days a week or something, that's probably okay if the machines can make all the food and the stuff, and we don't have to work as hard. There are displacements, and if they come slow enough, they're generational. You could have had a grandfather who thought the only real job was being on a farm, and then a father who did some farm work and some other work, and now this generation, only 2% of Americans are involved in farming in any way. And that's okay, even though Grandpa would think, 'Oh, that's awful, you're not getting your hands dirty.' So if it proceeds at a reasonable pace and the government helps those people who have to learn new things, then it's all good. It's, you know, the aging society, it's okay because the software makes things more productive. But eventually, you know, if you free up human labor, you can help elder people better, have small class sizes. The demand for labor to do good things is still there if you match the skills to it. And then, if you ever get beyond that, okay, you have a lot of leisure time, and we'll have to figure out what to do with it."
But hold on, it's not all rosy. Gates, wise as he is, warns about AI's pitfalls. He's not shy about it either. In a recent blog post, he mulls over AI's impact. He likens it to the dawn of personal computers. They didn't kill office jobs; they reinvented them. It's all about adapting, shifting with the times.
And guess what? Gates isn't the only big shot talking about this. Jamie Dimon from JPMorgan is on the same page. He's betting on a 3.5-day work week for future generations, all thanks to AI.
Here's a fun fact: Gates, who once saw sleep as a waste of time, is now singing a different tune. He's gone from a Microsoft-obsessed workaholic to someone who sees life as more than just a job. That's quite a turnaround, isn't it?
What's really cool is companies are already testing these waters. They're trying out four-day workweeks. And guess what they're finding? Happier, more efficient teams. It's like we're starting to live in the future Gates is talking about.
So, what's the real deal here? It's not about fearing the rise of machines. It's about embracing a new way of life. A life where we work to live, not live to work. This three-day workweek idea? It could be just the change we need. A breath of fresh air, a chance to balance our scales of life and work. Who knows, it might be closer than we think.
Photo: Bill Gates / YT
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Think about it. Machines doing the grunt work isn't about stealing our roles. It's more like handing us the gift of time. Time to live more, work less. Gates isn't talking about a lazy future, but a balanced one. A world where our lives don't revolve solely around work.
Here's what Gates said in his own words:
"If you zoom out, you know the purpose of life is not just to do jobs, so if you eventually get a society where you only have to work three days a week or something, that's probably okay if the machines can make all the food and the stuff, and we don't have to work as hard. There are displacements, and if they come slow enough, they're generational. You could have had a grandfather who thought the only real job was being on a farm, and then a father who did some farm work and some other work, and now this generation, only 2% of Americans are involved in farming in any way. And that's okay, even though Grandpa would think, 'Oh, that's awful, you're not getting your hands dirty.' So if it proceeds at a reasonable pace and the government helps those people who have to learn new things, then it's all good. It's, you know, the aging society, it's okay because the software makes things more productive. But eventually, you know, if you free up human labor, you can help elder people better, have small class sizes. The demand for labor to do good things is still there if you match the skills to it. And then, if you ever get beyond that, okay, you have a lot of leisure time, and we'll have to figure out what to do with it."
But hold on, it's not all rosy. Gates, wise as he is, warns about AI's pitfalls. He's not shy about it either. In a recent blog post, he mulls over AI's impact. He likens it to the dawn of personal computers. They didn't kill office jobs; they reinvented them. It's all about adapting, shifting with the times.
And guess what? Gates isn't the only big shot talking about this. Jamie Dimon from JPMorgan is on the same page. He's betting on a 3.5-day work week for future generations, all thanks to AI.
Here's a fun fact: Gates, who once saw sleep as a waste of time, is now singing a different tune. He's gone from a Microsoft-obsessed workaholic to someone who sees life as more than just a job. That's quite a turnaround, isn't it?
What's really cool is companies are already testing these waters. They're trying out four-day workweeks. And guess what they're finding? Happier, more efficient teams. It's like we're starting to live in the future Gates is talking about.
So, what's the real deal here? It's not about fearing the rise of machines. It's about embracing a new way of life. A life where we work to live, not live to work. This three-day workweek idea? It could be just the change we need. A breath of fresh air, a chance to balance our scales of life and work. Who knows, it might be closer than we think.
Read next: The Unstoppable Surge of Cyber Week Online Shopping
