Microsoft AI CEO gave these white-collar jobs 12-18 months before they are fully automated; said: Jobs where you are sitting down at …
Speaking in a earlier interview with the Financial Times, Suleyman said: “I think that we’re going to have a human level performance on most if not all professional tasks. So white collar work where you’re sitting down at a computer either being you know a lawyer or an accountant or a project manager or a marketing person most of those tasks will be fully automated by an AI within the next 12 to 18 months.”
His comments came as technology companies continued to invest heavily in AI tools capable of coding, analysing information, and automating workflows, while businesses experiment with integrating generative AI into daily operations.
In the interview, Suleyman also pointed to software engineering as an example of how job responsibilities are already changing. According to him, many developers are relying on AI-assisted coding for much of their output, shifting their role toward reviewing, debugging and making higher-level decisions.
AI may change jobs rather than eliminate all work: Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman
According to Suleyman, even though AI may not eliminate the requirement for humans, it would change the way people work. According to him, in software engineering, for instance, most people are working in “meta” (not to be confused with the company), where their role involves overseeing and thinking strategically rather than actually performing.
Suleyman compared it to the medical industry, where AI systems may one day perform diagnostic processes while doctors attend to their patients. “The job of the doctor is going to go from figuring out the diagnosis to actually administering the right care at the right time and providing emotional support,” Suleyman said.
Microsoft AI CEO pushed for AI self-sufficiency and ‘super intelligence’
Beyond workplace automation, Suleyman said his mission at Microsoft is to develop “super intelligence” and strengthen the company’s AI independence. He said Microsoft has extended its intellectual property agreement with OpenAI through 2032 while also pursuing its own foundation models.
“Self-sufficiency means developing your own foundation model,” Suleyman said, adding that Microsoft is investing in training infrastructure, compute and data organisation as part of that effort.
While doing so, Suleyman stressed on the point that it would be wrong to rush ahead with AI without proper precautions because there should be an emphasis on systems that stay aligned with human objectives.
