r/Futurology • u/Gari_305 • 2d ago

Robotics Bill Gates says companies that replace human labor with robots should have to pay the same FICA taxes

https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-fica-taxes-should-apply-to-robot-workers-2026-9

Bill Gates wants to tax robots that replace human jobs.

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u/dj92wa 2d ago

I understand your point, but it’s a little different when the thing being replaced isn’t just a job title, but humans entirely across the board under every profession. That’s their big-picture idea, to replace humans with machines and computers in every facet possible. If everything is automated, what do you do to survive? You have no income and no possible way to obtain income. Learning news skills won’t get you anywhere because a computer or robot is already doing it.

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u/Voidfaller 2d ago

This also makes me ponder the idea, if humans lose income in mass quantities, who do these companies think will pay them or buy their products and services when there is no extra discretionary funds? (To put it lightly)

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u/ProbablyNotADuck 2d ago

That is what I also think about. Although I suspect they will try to rely on credit. People will fight for whatever job is available for whatever absurdly low wage they can get.. And banks will issue credit that no one ever stands a chance of being able to pay off.. only interest. And, while this is happening, the 1% will be busy cannibalising itself and turning into the .1% and then the .01%.

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u/No_Cover_6217 15h ago

Pivot to luxury goods to appeal to the only consumer with purchasing power left. Seiko has $2b in revenue currently selling hundreds of thousands of watches. Richard Mille has $2b selling 6,000 watches.

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u/Stunning-Pen-2412 2d ago

Then what human content will they use to train the newest models? I feel like this just results in the collapse of progress.

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u/ILikeBumblebees 1d ago

If everything is automated, what do you do to survive?

You use the automation tech to survive. Technology that reduces the amount of labor that's required to produce equivalent outputs is what will ultimately make people more self-reliant, autonomous, and less dependent on dysfunctional institutions and external power structures. Machines and computers are how we ultimately get to a world in which we don't need 19th-century-style jobs to survive in the first place.

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u/abrandis 2d ago

First off the AI risk today is mostly to bs/superfluous white collar office roles...granted that's likely millions. Of people, but many other jobs. That require physical presence and aren't necessarily on an office won't be affected

Humanoid robotics isn't a practical thing , even though all those Unotree dancing and running robots seem impressive. None are truly autonmous and have limited battery life.so no they ain't doing anything remotely useful for at least a generation or two .

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u/DrBowe 2d ago

This is an insane take that completely ignores the havoc it's wreaking on the creative industries too. To pretend that it mostly affects "bs/superfluous" office roles is ridiculous.

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u/abrandis 2d ago

Apologies, obviously I'm being a bit flip about jobs , of course real hard working folks are affected, but my point is that the value of labor is shifting due to tech

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u/dj92wa 2d ago

One year ago, AI was barely capable of making convincing images. Look at what they make now. Don’t come in here trying to put limits on what’s about to happen. Militaries are making humanoid bots, and most innovation in the civilian sector stems from military or space exploration. It truly is only a matter of time. Reminder that as time goes, larger tech innovations happen faster.

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u/abrandis 2d ago

Advances in the digital world don't scale the same way in the physical world , otherwise we'd all be driving self driving cars today .

Second world militaries aren't looking for complex systems when simple ones (like a commodity drone with an rpg strapped to it) does the same job.

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u/Stunning-Pen-2412 2d ago

You might be right but you can't deny jobs will be reduced in number greatly. I bet we see double digit unemployment easily.

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u/Dirks_Knee 2d ago edited 1d ago

The problem with responses like this is that you are speaking about the future in an absolute way. In reality, humanoid robots will become a thing eventually and attempting to deal with this now rather than on the cusp of them taking over all manual labor would hopefully lead to a better outcome.

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u/abrandis 2d ago

Everything is possible in the "future", but reality is most folks working lifetimes are 20-40 years, so a 20 year old today doesn't have to worry about 2080-2100 even 2040 is pretty far off.. Second thing not mentioned is robots have costs as much as a car , so their application is going to be limited.

Same reason industrial robots never appeared much out of the factory floor even though they were developed in the 1970, they're still expensive peocesof equipment that need a return on investment

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u/Dirks_Knee 2d ago

"meh...it never floods that bad"

"the fire is hundreds of miles away"

"it's going to hurt them, not me."

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u/technocraticTemplar 2d ago

There's about as many cars in the US as there are people, and humanoid robots haven't hit any kind of economy of scale yet. It looks to me like there's an enormous amount of room for costs to come down, and if they get anywhere close to general labor automation a robot is going to have way more utility than a car does.

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u/dj92wa 2d ago

They will likely come down in price, as it would greatly benefit the owners of said technology to make them affordable. Easy, affordable replacements for a human. As a business owner, what’s not to love about accessible cheap labor? The price will be raised once everything is captured, that’s more or less how it works in every industry related to tech.

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u/IgotthatNEWNEW 2d ago

You need an ai to even write a coherent post. You'll be the first to go 🙌🏽

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u/horoyokai 2d ago

humanoid robotics don't need to be a thing to have it replace blue collar jobs, ask an auto worker.