Microsoft AI Chief Says White-Collar Jobs May Be Automated Soon
Microsoft AI Chief Says White-Collar Jobs May Be Automated Soon
Publish Date: 2026-05-18 06:06:00
Source Domain: indianexpress.com
2 min readNew DelhiMay 18, 2026 03:36 PM IST
Artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed almost every workplace and industry. From humanoid robots to bots, several tools are now the new normal in the evolving tech ecosystem. Recently, Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman claimed that AI could automate most of the white-collar jobs within the next 12 to 18 months.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Suleyman stressed that AI systems are approaching “human-level performance on most professional tasks”.
Compute-based jobs at risk
“Most of those tasks will be fully automated by an AI within the next 12 to 18 months,” Fortune quoted Suleyman as saying. He also said that computer-based jobs, including law and accounting, as well as marketing and project management, are particularly at risk.
Further, the Microsoft AI chief stated that the rapid acceleration in computing power and AI model capabilities is driving this shift and might outperform humans in problem-solving, routine decision-making tasks, and coding when the systems improve.
Last year, Suleyman highlighted the early evidence that has already been observed in sectors like software engineering, which involved developers relying on AI for coding, Business Insider reported. He claimed that the shift will not be restricted to routine tasks but will gradually extend to complex professional work.
Sharing how he wants AI-sufficiency for Microsoft, Suleyman had said, “This after all is the most important technology of our time. We have to develop our own foundation models which are at the absolute frontier.”
Last year, Microsoft laid off 15,000 employees. In a statement released in July 2025, CEO Satya Nadella said the company must “reimagine our mission for a new era.”
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DISCLAIMER: The statements, projections, and opinions shared regarding future automation and employment impacts are for informational purposes and should not be construed as…
