Bill Gates Predicts AI Will End Shortages of Doctors, Teachers — and Change the Nature of Work Itself

Bill Gates believes the global shortage of doctors and teachers may be nearing its end—not through better policy or training, but thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence.

In a new episode of the People by WTF podcast, the Microsoft co-founder said AI’s expanding capabilities could fill critical workforce gaps, particularly in healthcare and education, by supplying the expertise and support where human workers are in short supply.

“AI will come in and provide medical IQ, and there won’t be a shortage,” Gates said, referring to long-running deficits in medical personnel across countries like India, the US, and across Africa.

Gates, who has long channeled his philanthropic focus toward global health, pointed to AI’s potential to supplement or replicate tasks normally handled by physicians—especially in regions where medical infrastructure remains weak. His comments mirror growing concerns across the world about worsening shortages in healthcare.

The Association of American Medical Colleges has forecast that the United States could face a deficit of up to 86,000 primary and specialty care physicians by 2036. According to the organization’s director of workforce studies, Michael Dill, the problem isn’t just about capacity—it’s about equity.

“The country needs hundreds of thousands of doctors to provide an equal amount of care to everyone, including minorities, those without medical insurance, and people living in rural areas,” Dill told Business Insider.

Geriatric care presents an even deeper crisis. As America’s population ages, the number of doctors trained to care for older adults is shrinking, raising fears of a care quality collapse.

To address the gap, and the burnout that comes with overstretched health systems, investors have been pouring billions into healthcare-focused AI startups. Companies like Suki, Zephyr AI, and Tennr are marketing solutions that automate the administrative grind of modern medicine: charting, billing, note-taking, and even clinical diagnosis. The pitch is simple: let AI handle the time-consuming work, so humans can focus on the human part.

McKinsey, the global consulting firm, estimates that generative AI alone could unlock as much as $370 billion in productivity gains for the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries.

Schools Face a Similar AI Pivot

The education sector, too, is leaning heavily into AI as a possible fix for a growing human shortfall. In the US, nearly 9 in 10 public schools reported difficulty hiring teachers for the 2023–24 academic year, according to federal data. Almost half said they were simply understaffed.

The problem isn’t unique to the US. In the UK, a London-based high school launched a pilot program last year in which students in core subjects like English, biology, and math used ChatGPT and other AI tools in place of traditional classroom instruction. Teachers weren’t entirely removed, but the use of AI significantly changed how students were prepared for exams.

Despite fears about cheating and over-reliance on machines, some educators are optimistic about AI’s role in lesson planning and learning assistance. With teachers in short supply and workloads rising, the idea is less about replacement and more about support—though that line may become harder to draw as AI continues to evolve.

Beyond Classrooms and Clinics: The Rise of Robot Labor

But Gates didn’t stop at white-collar work. On the podcast, he suggested AI, and the robotics that will follow could soon disrupt jobs traditionally considered safe from automation.

“Factory workers, construction crews, hotel cleaners—anyone doing work that required physical skill and time,” Gates said, are all on AI’s radar. “The hands have to be awfully good to do those things. We’ll achieve that.”

He’s not alone in that view. Tech companies like Nvidia have already begun placing massive bets on humanoid robots engineered to handle manual labor in warehouses, hotels, and industrial settings. These machines promise to replace repetitive and physically demanding tasks with programmable precision, potentially slashing labor costs for companies while stoking anxiety among workers.

A Future With Less Work—Or a Different Kind of Work?

If AI takes over the tasks traditionally performed by humans, from diagnosing patients to cleaning hotel floors, what happens to work itself?

Gates believes society may need to completely rethink its relationship with time, labor, and meaning.

“You can retire early, you can work shorter workweeks,” he said. “It’s going to require almost a philosophical rethink about, ‘Okay, how should time be spent?’”

It’s not a new idea. British economist John Maynard Keynes famously predicted in 1930 that technological progress would eventually shrink the workweek to just 15 hours. That future never materialized. Despite historic leaps in productivity, most people still clock around 40 hours weekly. For many, economic realities, not personal choice, determine whether they can reduce hours or leave the workforce.

Gates, whose fortune allows him the luxury of choice, acknowledged the difficulty of shifting away from a scarcity mindset.

“It’s hard for those of us—in my case, spending almost 70 years in a world of shortage—even to adjust my mind,” he said. “I don’t have to work. I choose to work. Because? Because it’s fun.”

For the rest of the world, however, the shift won’t be philosophical. It will be structural, economic, and, for millions, deeply personal. Whether AI eases the burden or renders millions obsolete depends not only on the technology but also on how societies adapt to it.