Bill Gates urges tax changes as AI threatens jobs

Bill Gates warns that AI will disrupt employment across intellectual and physical work, with business incentives encouraging companies to replace people rather than protect jobs. He describes the shift as an “evolutionary event” in which humans are no longer the most intelligent entities on the planet, threatening skills ranging from invention and office work to manual labour.

Governments could face falling safety-net revenues even as overall prosperity increases, Gates says, creating pressure to find new funding for displaced workers, education and retraining. He supports taxing AI use, potentially through a “token tax”, and higher taxes on billionaires. Gates says he has paid $14bn in lifetime taxes but would have been willing to pay $40bn.

While highlighting potential benefits such as better drug discovery, Gates identifies bioterrorism and cyberattacks as immediate threats. He warns that AI could operate beyond human control by the end of the 2020s, making alignment and control urgent priorities. Cooperation between the US and China will be necessary to address risks that transcend national competition, he says.

The UK government has announced £100m for a new AI Biosecurity Lab, supported by up to £200m in model credits from Anthropic and OpenAI. The AI Security Institute will receive a further £120m. Broader spending plans aim to strengthen cybersecurity, support domestic innovation and reduce dependence on overseas technology.