Bill Gates has proposed introducing a tax on artificial intelligence systems and robots: if a company replaces an employee with a neural network or machine, it should continue to pay taxes roughly as if the position were still held by a person.

According to Gates, without such measures, large-scale automation would rapidly reduce tax revenues along with the number of jobs. This includes contributions that in the United States fund the pension system and public healthcare programs.

He suggests directing the collected funds to social support and retraining for people displaced by automation. Such taxes, in his view, could also slightly slow the pace at which employees are replaced by AI and robots.