Bill Gates has published a lengthy essay calling for certain jobs to be designated "human reserved" to shield them from being taken over by artificial intelligence, drawing a parallel with nature reserves that protect land from development. In his first extended writing on AI in three years, the Microsoft co-founder warned that "many jobs will disappear forever" but argued some roles, such as caring for the sick or dying, contain something "irreplaceably human" that should remain off-limits to robots regardless of technical capability.

The essay, titled "The turbulent AI era is here. The choices we make are critical," also raises concerns that governments are unprepared for AI's scale of impact, comparing the challenge to the US government's post-9/11 reorganisation but on a far larger scale, touching areas from national security to education and the financial system. Gates said some US-China cooperation would be needed, with a meeting between his staff and President Xi Jinping being arranged for November, and also warned that heavy AI use could weaken critical thinking, particularly among young people. The intervention marks one of Gates's first major public statements since revelations that he and Gates Foundation staff held around 30 meetings with Jeffrey Epstein between 2011 and 2014, though Gates has not been accused of involvement in Epstein's crimes.