Bill Gates warned that the shift to artificial intelligence could trigger rapid job displacement and concentrate wealth among a small group of companies and investors. In an essay published Wednesday on his Gates Notes website, Gates said the AI transition could become one of the most turbulent periods in human history and argued that governments are not preparing adequately. He said AI is advancing faster than earlier technologies because it can run on devices people already use, interact through natural language and learn from existing data, allowing its effects to reach law, customer service, medicine, software and manufacturing within a decade rather than across several generations. Entry-level and mid-level roles could be especially exposed, while disruption may extend across white-collar and blue-collar work, including sales, customer support, software engineering, paralegal services, loan assessments, data analysis, patient triage, construction and hospitality. Bank of America has found little evidence of a broad AI-driven employment collapse so far, although it has identified pressure in some white-collar and entry-level positions, while AI-related construction and manufacturing activity has created jobs. Gates said the greater risk may emerge once AI can operate reliably with limited human oversight, strengthening companies' incentive to replace workers. He proposed new rules covering employment, taxation, health, education and national security, including a "Human Reserved" approach for roles such as caregiving, education and mental health. Gates also wrote, "I believe we should tax AI tokens and robots," arguing that companies pay payroll taxes for human workers but can generally write off robots as business expenses. He said the proceeds could support retraining and a stronger social safety net. Gates also highlighted potential benefits for health care, agriculture, education, government services, clean energy, climate research and disease research, while saying governments and philanthropy must ensure those gains reach lower-income people and countries.