In the debut episode of Zerodha founder Nikhil Kamath's new podcast series "People by WTF," Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates shared his insights on the future of artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential impact on various industries, particularly software engineering. While acknowledging the transformative power of AI, Gates reassured listeners that it's unlikely to replace software engineers anytime soon.
"The amazing thing about this technology is that we know it can help in key areas, and we know it can create educational tutors. We have seen several projects in India and the US that are showing great results. The potential is incredible if we knew that all it did was make jobs more productive," Gates stated, highlighting AI's potential to revolutionise education and boost productivity.
Addressing concerns about AI potentially displacing software engineers, Gates dismissed such fears as "alarmist." He emphasised, "We still need those software engineers as we are not going to stop needing them." This reassurance comes as a relief to many in the tech industry anxious about job security amidst rapid advancements in AI.
However, Gates acknowledged the possibility of AI reaching a level where it could potentially replace all jobs, but he believes this scenario is unlikely within the next two decades. "Although I am not sure of that," he added, suggesting that the long-term impact of AI remains uncertain.