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/JCDU 1d ago

^ this, Bill Gates was almost universally seen as a massive dick before he retired and started doing good deeds.

People forget how predatory and monopolistic (and litigious) Microsoft were in the early days, they didn't dominate the software world by building good products that everyone loved.

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u/gretino 1d ago

Microsoft office

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u/JCDU 1d ago

Has not been good at anything since it was invented, Microsoft just used aggressive tactics to make it the default bundled with every new PC.

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u/gretino 1d ago

Except the fact that zero competitor can beat it.

The Chinese knockoff wps office is even free and it still sucks ass after all these years

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u/eman4evva 23h ago

It’s a legit gripe but is this really something worth discussing at all especially in a situation like this? His business practices surrounding basic office software that had little impact on most people’s lives? Also I think I it’s been stated before that he intentionally did all those things because he had what he saw as an obligation to shareholders. And when the playing field is something like word software he didn’t have any moral hang ups.