Artificial intelligence is everywhere right now. From classrooms to health care, it’s making many people excited – and just as nervous. Sure, it can write poems and summarize meetings, but what happens when it starts replacing jobs? That’s a question no one seems to want to dig into too deeply. We’re all standing on the edge of a pool, wondering if the water’s warm or icy but too scared to jump in and find out.

In a September 2024 interview on The Today Show, Bill Gates, cofounder of Microsoft and one of the world’s loudest tech visionaries, dove into that pool. Promoting his new Netflix series, What’s Next: The Future with Bill Gates, he didn’t shy away from the elephant in the room: AI’s impact on the workforce and, ultimately, on society itself.

Gates started by sharing some exciting ways AI is already being used. “In Newark, I’ve seen it being piloted in classrooms to enhance education. It’s also simplifying health care, like sorting out medical bills or helping doctors with MRIs.” Sounds promising, right? But then he dropped this: “When we had tractors, okay, farmers can do other things. But here, we’re talking about almost every kind of job being affected.”

According to Gates, this monumental shift in the workforce could lead to more leisure time. Great, in theory. But then what? “It’s going to create almost a, ‘Wow, what do we do with all that time?’ type problem,” he said. In other words, AI might give us the time we’ve always dreamed of but leave us struggling to figure out how to use it.

That’s just one of the paradoxes he touched on. Gates admitted that experts don’t fully understand how AI makes decisions. “It’s so powerful. It’s advancing faster than anything we’ve seen before,” he said. “And with that comes a need for regulation.” He called for governments to create rules to address AI risks – whether that’s liability for bad advice or ensuring the tech doesn’t amplify discrimination. But there’s a catch: AI is moving so quickly that writing those rules is a nightmare.

Still, Gates isn’t all doom and gloom. He’s a fan of AI and even uses it himself. “Oh, yeah,” he said. “I use it to summarize meetings, analyze books or draft speeches. It’s incredibly time-saving and even creatively surprising – it can write poems and songs!”

So, is AI a dream or a disaster waiting to happen? Gates thinks it’ll be both. “Mostly, it’s going to bring good stuff,” he said. “But the big question is, will we get it right?”

Whether AI makes your life easier, puts your job at risk or leaves you staring at a blank calendar wondering what to do with your day, one thing is clear – it’s not going away. And while people like Gates are asking the big questions, the rest of us might want to start thinking about them, too.

The rapid rise of AI has many workers on edge. A 2023 survey by the American Psychological Association found that nearly four in 10 U.S. workers (38%) worry that AI could make some or all of their job duties obsolete.

This anxiety isn’t limited to the U.S.; in India, a Microsoft survey revealed that 74% of workers fear AI will replace their jobs. Even younger employees aren’t immune, with over half of 18 to 24-year-olds expressing concern about AI’s impact on their future careers.