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Microsoft’s artificial intelligence chief Mustafa Suleyman warned that rapid advances in AI could soon transform professional work and automate many white-collar tasks, raising concerns about widespread job disruption across several industries.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Suleyman said most computer based professional tasks could be fully automated within the next 12 to 18 months, as artificial intelligence systems reach human level performance in many fields.
His remarks come as major technology companies expand investment in advanced AI systems while researchers and industry leaders debate the technology’s impact on employment and economic structures.
Suleyman said AI’s growing computing power and rapid development signal a “red alert” moment for professional workers.
He argued that jobs requiring computer based tasks face the highest risk of automation.
“White-collar work, where you’re sitting down at a computer, either being a lawyer or an accountant or a project manager or a marketing person, most of those tasks will be fully automated by AI within the next 12 to 18 months,” he said.
According to Suleyman, artificial intelligence systems will soon perform tasks at human level across many professions. These tools are also expected to improve continuously, take more autonomous actions and coordinate complex workflows within large institutions over the next two to three years.
He identified several sectors as particularly vulnerable to automation, including:
The warning follows similar statements from other technology leaders. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei previously said AI could eliminate half of entry level white-collar jobs, while Ford CEO Jim Farley predicted the technology could reduce the number of such jobs in the United States by half.
AI researcher Matt Shumer also compared the current period to early 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global economies, arguing that the coming technological shift could be even more dramatic.
Suleyman’s comments come as Microsoft increases investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure and accelerates development of its own advanced models.
The company aims to achieve what Suleyman described as “true self sufficiency” by building its own foundation models rather than relying primarily on external partners. Microsoft has historically depended on models developed by OpenAI to power services such as its Copilot assistant.
Microsoft retains a major stake in OpenAI and access to its technology until 2032, but the company has also invested in other AI developers and expanded in house research. Suleyman said Microsoft plans to launch its own advanced AI models later this year.
The company has forecast capital spending of $140 billion in its current fiscal year to support AI infrastructure and data development. The scale of spending has raised concerns among investors about a potential technology investment bubble, contributing to recent declines in major technology stocks.
Despite market concerns, Suleyman described the current period as an unprecedented technological shift and said AI development would generate long term economic returns.
He also said Microsoft aims to build what he called “humanist superintelligence,” referring to AI systems designed to remain under human control and operate in ways that enhance human wellbeing.
“These tools, like any other past technology, are designed to enhance human wellbeing and serve humanity, not exceed humanity,” Suleyman said.
The company is also exploring the use of AI in healthcare, including diagnostic tools that it says can outperform doctors in certain tasks and help address staffing shortages in health systems.
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