Microsoft AI boss Mustafa Suleyman says AI will reach “human levels of performance” in office work.
He predicts that most tasks in this area can be automated in the next 12 to 18 months.
Several AI industry executives are warning of impending massive job cuts.
Microsoft’s AI boss joins a growing number of executives who expect widespread automation of jobs through artificial intelligence.
Mustafa Suleyman said in an interview with the Financial Times that he expects most, if not all, tasks in typical office jobs to be automated by AI within the next year or year and a half.
“I think we will reach a level of performance equivalent to that of a human being in most, if not all, professional activities,” Suleyman said in the interview published Wednesday. “So classic office work – when you sit at a computer, be it as a lawyer, accountant, project manager or in marketing – most of these tasks will be completely automated by AI within the next 12 to 18 months.”
He said this trend is already being seen in software development, where workers are relying on “AI-assisted programming” for the majority of their code production.
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“It’s a very different relationship with technology – and that’s what’s developed over the last six months,” he said.
AI is already noticeably changing the world of work
The rapid progress of AI over the past five years has already brought about demonstrable changes in the way certain office tasks are carried out.
BUSINESS INSIDER (BI) recently reported on “AI fatigue” in software development: While the technology increases productivity, it also leads to exhaustion as employees are expected to take on more tasks at the same time.
Some AI leaders and pioneers believe that artificial intelligence will advance enough to replace entire workforces.
Computer scientist Stuart Russell, co-author of one of the world’s definitive books on AI, said in an interview last year that policymakers expected “80 percent unemployment” as a result of AI, with jobs ranging from surgeon to CEO at risk.
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Dario Amodei, CEO and co-founder of Anthropic, previously said AI could eliminate half of all entry-level office jobs.
“We as developers of this technology have a duty and responsibility to be honest about what’s coming,” Amodei said in an interview with Axios. “I don’t think people really realize that.”
A Microsoft spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.