Dusseldorf This week, Handelsblatt Disrupt reports from the digital congress “Europe 2023” in Berlin. Editor-in-Chief Sebastian Matthes talks to Microsoft founder Bill Gates about the disruptive power of artificial intelligence (AI), the future of energy supply – and the question of how new technologies are changing the world of work.
Gates doesn’t see jobs at risk from AI, he says. Gates said there will not be fewer teachers or fewer doctors. In the long term, working hours would even decrease. Because while machines take over routine tasks, employees can concentrate on the important activities of their job.
Gates also talks about the major threats to humanity, such as pandemics, famine and the climate crisis. He is optimistic: Despite major setbacks in the past, “it will still be better to be born in ten or twenty years than it is today,” he says. The reason for this is the increasing speed of innovation in many areas.
He is less optimistic about the federal government’s handling of the energy supply. He criticizes shutting down the remaining nuclear power plants. “I would keep the reactors running, they provide clean energy and are relatively safe,” he says. France, on the other hand, will build the next reactors. “I hope Germany stays open to the technology.”
The conversation goes far beyond questions of international politics. Gates also talks about his own mistakes, the importance of money and the success factors in his life. He recommends surrounding yourself with people “who have more expertise in the key areas of the future than you do.” That’s what successful people have in common, he says.
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More: The previous episode of Handelsblatt Disrupt can be found here.