Bill Gates has called for certain jobs to be designated as "human reserved" to protect the labour force from AI, warning governments are not prepared for the "turbulent times" the technology will bring. In a 6,000-word essay, Gates warned world leaders are not doing enough to respond to AI, which he said would impact nearly every area of policy and require a bigger government response than the institutional changes focused on national security after the 9/11 attacks.

Gates warned "many jobs will disappear forever" but policymakers could "set aside certain things for only people to do", partly as a measure to protect groups of workers "who can't easily change jobs". He used the phrase "human reserved" because it makes him think of nature reserves — places where we could put buildings and roads but we choose not to because the loss would be too great.

Gates also expressed worries about AI's impact on education, citing early indications that it can affect critical thinking. He joined AI companies including Anthropic and Open AI to call for radical changes to taxation, including a levy on robots and on "tokens", the units of data processed by AI systems. "AI will either be the greatest equaliser ever invented or the worst source of injustice. The challenge is monumental," Gates wrote. "Unfortunately, right now we are not preparing for it."