Microsoft AI CEO says automation will soon take over most white-collar tasks

Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman predicts most white-collar work will be automated by artificial intelligence within the next 18 months.

“I think that we’re going to have a human-level performance on most if not all professional tasks, so white-collar work where you’re sitting down at your computer — either being a lawyer, or an accountant or a project manager or marketing person — most of those tasks will be fully automated by an AI within the next 12 to 18 months,” Suleyman said in an interview with the Financial Times published Thursday.

Suleyman pointed to what’s happening among software engineers, where he said AI use has accelerated over the past six months.

“We can see this in software engineering,” he said. “Many software engineers report that they are now using AI-assisted coding for the vast majority of their code production, which means that their role has shifted now to this meta function of debugging, scrutinizing, the strategic stuff.”

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Human beings will be moved to more useful functions like batteries to power the AI.