Times Of Swaziland: HEY, I... HEY, I... ================================================================================ Chris Morgan on 10/04/2025 08:42:00 Bill Gates was not the first US Dollar multi-billionaire in the world. But his predecessors didn’t generate anywhere near the same degree of public recognition. He has also been a very generous man in donating substantial funds for good causes across the world. Bill has now made a rather surprising public prediction. He thinks that Artificial Intelligence (AI) or also known from today as HO (Humans Obsolete, lol), will cause the working week for most people to shrink from five days to two. And we’ll be there a mere 10 years from today. That’s a shrinkage rate of a little over one minute a day; starting now! (On a 24-hour day basis). Are you smiling or frowning? Now there are many who will challenge the prediction, many who may agree and many who might be grateful or even horrified by it. Bill Gates was the first globally applauded computer software genius. He’s a smart guy. But does that genius enhance the likelihood of an accurate prediction by him? Hard to say, but it will certainly attract much discussion and speculation. Let’s, first of all, cover the tiny number of careers Bill Gates thinks that AI cannot consume. These are in: AI development (obvious), energy expertise and biology. In the interest of brevity, let’s take the technical justification of those three for granted. But how, one reflects, can AI take over electrical, plumbing and roofing work, among many others? And it’s already recognised that there are aspects of other activities, where AI will only take over a large proportion of the broader work and not all of it. These include person-to-person medical advice, mental therapy, job motivation and conflict resolution, among the many examples where a human’s input can never be replaced. And, in any event, would a two-day working week be a good thing? There have already been studies made of the impact of a shorter working week. Unfortunately, the main ones seem to be from two countries – Iceland and New Zealand - which rank among the happiest in the world. Which is perhaps not a good sample. Happy people tend to have a more positive attitude and are then likely to make better use of the shorter time available, perhaps silently congratulating themselves as they do so. In those two countries the surveys indicate that reduced working hours are giving rise to higher productivity and a more comfortable balance between work and leisure. The progression of AI will automatically create greater efficiency and reduced time needs. And Bill Gates emphasises the massive contribution AI makes to the faster acquisition of personal intelligence and knowledge. He says: “Intelligence becomes free for everyone.” Prediction It’s almost certain that HO – sorry, I mean AI – will take over much of the current human activity. So, if Bill Gates’ prediction is accepted, let’s move from the practical to the humanistic (what kind of word is that?) and ask the question – what will people do with the additional three days of the week, on top of the two-day weekend? Assuming, of course that the smaller number of hours does not mean a reduced income. Let’s start with the downside from additional leisure time: More screen-watching. It’s bad enough already with a significant negative effect on the youngsters who have extensive access to smartphones. Access to general knowledge is usually vastly outweighed by the immersion in social media where, at best, phone conversation replaces face to face contact. And, at worst, watching those silly YouTube programmes where youngsters, albeit having fun, cannot communicate at less than 100 decibels. Even before the smartphone, most human beings who could afford it would watch too much TV. It’s generally viewed as a passive form of cerebral activity that, in an excessive sedentary state (unless you’re watching from a treadmill), has a negative impact on human health. A friend of mine told me how he was sitting in front of his TV and on the screen was this fat guy with a big stomach, simply slouching in an armchair. “What on earth is this,” my friend said to himself, “I’m paying for my licence to get this rubbish?” Then, he suddenly realised – he hadn’t switched the TV on (just a joke). Spending The worst-case scenario is where there’s too much time and nothing to replace it – ‘the idle mind is the devil’s playground.’ In today’s world, that’s drugs and other crime. Or it might just be people spending more time gazing at the proverbial ‘fly on the wall.’ There’s an outside chance the growing obsession with the human physical form will expand (in more ways than one) the transfer from active sport to active body-beautification, courtesy of the gym. That might easily precipitate a diversion of the clothing industry of the world into transparent, but warm upper body clothing for maximum exhibition of the newly-developed abs, pecs, bi’s and tri’s. A muscular entry into the world of narcissism. But one golden opportunity would be where a large proportion of those enjoying the three days of freedom, utilise internet websites for new online academic and technical studies. This would enable an expansion of one’s knowledge and skills and even obtaining an (additional) qualification. That’s a win-win for individuals and society. It would, of course, demand additional screen time, but fully justified for the achievements and the enhancement of one’s career. Factor in the potential for more frequent meeting with friends for morning coffee or other socialising supplements – hopefully not too high in cholesterol and triglycerides – and you have a society of happy or happier campers.