'I think we're going to have a human-level performance on most, if not all, professional tasks': Microsoft AI chief thinks AI will replace most white-collar work in the 12 to 18 months - so is this the end for human workers?

By Mike Moore published 20 hours ago

Mustafa Suleyman unsurprisingly thinks AI will bring big changes

Microsoft AI head says white-collar jobs could be at risk from AI
Major change could be coming over next 12-18 months
Mustafa Suleyman is the latest in a series of tech CEOs to sound alarm on jobs effect

Microsoft's AI chief has declared his belief AI is set to advance so far as to be able to replace white-collar job roles within the next 12-18 months.

Speaking in a YouTube interview with the Financial Times, Mustafa Suleyman addressed the company's push towards "artificial capable intelligence" a
term he coined for the next step towards Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

"I think we're going to have a human-level performance on most, if not all, professional tasks," Suleyman said. "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."

AI jobs risk

Suleyman also outlined his belief AI tools will be useful for almost every area, as Microsoft looks to more towards "humanist superintelligence".

"There are going to be billions of digital minds," he said. "There are going
to be many, many different lineages of model. Creating a new model is like creating a podcast or writing a blog - it is going to be possible to design an AI that suits your requirements for every institution, organization, and person on the planet."

Suleyman's opinions have been echoed by many other tech leaders in recent months, reflecting a wider shift in the industry as AI becomes more commonplace in workplaces across the world.

In May 2025, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei also warned the US government about the risk AI poses to white-collar jobs, predicting up to half of all entry-level roles could be taken by AI, leading to unemployment of as much as 20% in the next one to five years.

"It sounds crazy, and people just don't believe it", Amodei said, noting how AI has the potential to affect society in positive and negative ways; "Cancer is cured, the economy grows at 10% a year, the budget is balanced - and 20% of people don't have jobs."

"We, as the producers of this technology, have a duty and an obligation to be honest about what is coming."

Link to interview: https://youtu.be/YTrBz6Z5c0E


https://www.techradar.com/pro/i-think-were-going-to-have-a-human-level-performa nce-on-most-if-not-all-professional-tasks-microsoft-ai-chief-thinks-ai-will-rep lace-most-white-collar-work-in-the-12-to-18-months-so-is-this-the-end-for-human -workers

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Mike Powell wrote to All <=-

'I think we're going to have a human-level performance on most, if not all, professional tasks': Microsoft AI chief thinks AI will replace
most white-collar work in the 12 to 18 months - so is this the end for human workers?

The slope is increasing, but most of the doomsayers are saying something
more like 5 years for most jobs.

I'm sure the increased profits reaped by labor replacement with AI will
be turned into a universal income and we'll enter tech utopia. Right?

Right?




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'I think we're going to have a human-level performance on most, if not all, professional tasks': Microsoft AI chief thinks AI will replace
most white-collar work in the 12 to 18 months - so is this the end for human workers?

The slope is increasing, but most of the doomsayers are saying something
more like 5 years for most jobs.

I'm sure the increased profits reaped by labor replacement with AI will
be turned into a universal income and we'll enter tech utopia. Right?

Right?

I would not hold my breath for that. Our only hopes of acheiving that
might be to become tech bros on our own.... if you cannot beat them...


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So, how many employee's will be left at Redmond?

When you think about it, executive positions could most easily be
replaced by AI - when you have an AI that understands the current market
and future trends better than a human, there's no need for a CEO.

While I don't disagree, I don't see many CEO's and upper management wanting
to make such a decision.

There is a Twilight Zone episode that comes to mind here... the Brain
Center at Whipple's. Good episode. ;)

Mike


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When you think about it, executive positions could most easily be

>> replaced by AI - when you have an AI that understands the current market
>> and future trends better than a human, there's no need for a CEO.

While I don't disagree, I don't see many CEO's and upper management

>wanting to make such a decision.

When I first read the above what popped into my mind Re: CEO's was
the Peter Principle, the idea that workers will continue to be
promoted if they do their jobs well, meaning that when they
finally stop promoting a person, it's because they have finally
reached the point where they can no longer handle the job they
are supposed to be doing..

IOW, all upper management is incompetent.. B)

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Rob Mccart wrote to MIKE POWELL <=-

IOW, all upper management is incompetent.. B)

I worked at a a multimedia company, left in 1997. When I left, they had
about 400 employees. They ditched their multimedia roots and went all in
on internet authoring and animation. The company grew to 1800 people at
the peak, then after the bust, went through heavy layoffs to end up with
800 employees.

They made fuckedcompany.com because the new company had 80 vice
presidents. For a company of 800. 10 employees per VP. Just goes to
confirm that upper management is great at keeping themselves employed.



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When you think about it, executive positions could most easily be

>> replaced by AI - when you have an AI that understands the current market
>> and future trends better than a human, there's no need for a CEO.

While I don't disagree, I don't see many CEO's and upper management

>wanting to make such a decision.

When I first read the above what popped into my mind Re: CEO's was
the Peter Principle, the idea that workers will continue to be
promoted if they do their jobs well, meaning that when they
finally stop promoting a person, it's because they have finally
reached the point where they can no longer handle the job they
are supposed to be doing..

IOW, all upper management is incompetent.. B)

Yeah, I have heard that many times and would agree that they are either (1) incompetent or (2) never really got to hand off the responsibilities of
their past job(s) and are therefore overwhelmed.

I think that second one usually happens not so much to people that get
promoted but maybe lateralled. ;)

Mike


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I worked at a a multimedia company, left in 1997. When I left, they had

>about 400 employees. They ditched their multimedia roots and went all in
>on internet authoring and animation. The company grew to 1800 people at
>the peak, then after the bust, went through heavy layoffs to end up with
>800 employees.

They made fuckedcompany.com because the new company had 80 vice

>presidents. For a company of 800. 10 employees per VP. Just goes to
>confirm that upper management is great at keeping themselves employed.

Yes, good example.. You also see quite often, especially in companies
that have some attachment to the gov't like Power or Mail systems,
that they have terrible losses due to bad management and yet the
top people are making many $Millions a year. Rarely do they ever
get rid of those people, and when they do, there is always a
severance package worth many more $Millions..

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Yeah, I have heard that many times and would agree that they are either (1)

>incompetent or (2) never really got to hand off the responsibilities of
>their past job(s) and are therefore overwhelmed.

I think that second one usually happens not so much to people that get

>promoted but maybe lateralled. ;)

Yes, now that you mention it, my last regular job kept heapig more resposibility onto me, eventually the actual manager was almost never
in the building (out having 3 martini lunches with clients) so I
ended up doing his job as well as mine..

And I had to threaten to quit to get a decent raise out of them..

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They made fuckedcompany.com because the new company had 80 vice

>presidents. For a company of 800. 10 employees per VP. Just goes to
>confirm that upper management is great at keeping themselves employed.

Yes, good example.. You also see quite often, especially in companies
that have some attachment to the gov't like Power or Mail systems,
that they have terrible losses due to bad management and yet the
top people are making many $Millions a year. Rarely do they ever
get rid of those people, and when they do, there is always a
severance package worth many more $Millions..

Living in California, Kurt probably knows several good examples regarding Pacific Gas and Electric (PGE).

Mike


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Mike Powell wrote to ROB MCCART <=-

Living in California, Kurt probably knows several good examples
regarding Pacific Gas and Electric (PGE).

Make stupid deals with Enron.
Enron manipulates the market, stupid deals bite PG&E in the ass.
PG&E transfers billions to PGE Corp, then files for bankrupcy.
Later, in better economic times, buy back the stock to raise prices.
Don't spend money on infrastructure maintenance.
Fires caused by faulty infrastructure causes millions in damages.
Petition the PUC to raise prices to pay for PR ad campaigns and
deferred maintenance (which should have been done instead of buying
back stock)
Encourage electric vehicles and solar buyback programs.
Increase EV rates and hamstring residential solar buyback rates.




... Adding on
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You also see quite often, especially in companies

>> that have some attachment to the gov't like Power or Mail systems,
>> that they have terrible losses due to bad management and yet the
>> top people are making many $Millions a year. Rarely do they ever
>> get rid of those people, and when they do, there is always a
>> severance package worth many more $Millions..

Living in California, Kurt probably knows several good examples regarding

>Pacific Gas and Electric (PGE).

Is that to suggest that the more 'Liberal' states are more likely to
have those sorts of problems? Thinking on this, I'm sure there are
a lot of more Conservative (Republican) States/Provinces that also
greatly over-pay the top business people, the main difference probably
being how they treat their lower income people.. B)

---
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Living in California, Kurt probably knows several good examples regarding Pacific Gas and Electric (PGE).

Make stupid deals with Enron.
Enron manipulates the market, stupid deals bite PG&E in the ass.
PG&E transfers billions to PGE Corp, then files for bankrupcy.
Later, in better economic times, buy back the stock to raise prices.
Don't spend money on infrastructure maintenance.
Fires caused by faulty infrastructure causes millions in damages.
Petition the PUC to raise prices to pay for PR ad campaigns and
deferred maintenance (which should have been done instead of buying
back stock)
Encourage electric vehicles and solar buyback programs.
Increase EV rates and hamstring residential solar buyback rates.

I knew I could count on you to fill in many details. I live in Kentucky,
far from California, but even I know there are stories to tell about them,
so you know it cannot be good. ;)

Mike


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Living in California, Kurt probably knows several good examples regarding

>Pacific Gas and Electric (PGE).

Is that to suggest that the more 'Liberal' states are more likely to
have those sorts of problems? Thinking on this, I'm sure there are
a lot of more Conservative (Republican) States/Provinces that also
greatly over-pay the top business people, the main difference probably
being how they treat their lower income people.. B)

No there was no real political inference there. The inference is that PG&E
has been bad enough about it that even someone that lives far away from California has heard about it. ;)

Mike


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Is that to suggest that the more 'Liberal' states are more likely to

>> have those sorts of problems?

No there was no real political inference there. The inference is that PG&E

>has been bad enough about it that even someone that lives far away from
>California has heard about it. ;)

I see.. We have a few provinces here that end up in the news for odd
reasons more than most others too..

Mostly Alberta and British Columbia.. One super Conservative and the
other super Liberal.. B)

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I see.. We have a few provinces here that end up in the news for odd
reasons more than most others too..

Mostly Alberta and British Columbia.. One super Conservative and the
other super Liberal.. B)

LOL they wind up in the news here, too! :D Lately, one for a separatist movement and the other for out-of-control housing prices/cost of living.

Also, Alberta has made the news in recent past for an advertising ploy to attempt to convince British Columbians to move to Alberta, which used BC's out-of-control housing prices/cost of living as reasons to relocate. ;)

Mike

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We have a few provinces here that end up in the news for odd

>> reasons more than most others too..

Mostly Alberta and British Columbia.. One super Conservative and the

>> other super Liberal.. B)

LOL they wind up in the news here, too! :D Lately, one for a separatist

>movement and the other for out-of-control housing prices/cost of living.

Depending on your source Vancouver, B.C. area has 1 or 2 of the most
expensive cities to live in Canada but Alberta also has 2. But Ontario
has 6 of them (although B.C. does tend to hit #1) so for the most part
costly homes are more widespread in Ontario.. Toronto usually hits #2.

Also, Alberta has made the news in recent past for an advertising ploy to

>attempt to convince British Columbians to move to Alberta, which used BC's
>out-of-control housing prices/cost of living as reasons to relocate. ;)

If you're looking just for cheap housing I wouldn't put Alberta very
close to the top of the list. A lot of provinces didn't even make
the list in the top 10 highest cost.

We tend to think of Alberta as being more like much of the USA.
Very conservative, worse than average healthcare for low income
people and lots of bonuses and lower taxes for rich people.

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Re: Re: MS AI Chief: AI will replace white-collar work
By: Kurt Weiske to Mike Powell on Wed Feb 18 2026 07:50 am

I'm sure the increased profits reaped by labor replacement with AI will
be turned into a universal income and we'll enter tech utopia. Right?

Right?

I heard Michael Kosta's voice as I read this. :-)
--
digital man (rob)

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