'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?

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Mustafa Suleyman unsurprisingly thinks AI will bring big changes

Mustafa Suleyman and Satya Nadella at the Copilot update and Microsoft 50th anniversary
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
  • 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."

Mustafa Suleyman sets out Microsoft AI's goal of 'humanist superintelligence' | FT Interview - YouTube Mustafa Suleyman sets out Microsoft AI's goal of 'humanist superintelligence' | FT Interview - YouTube
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Mike Moore
Mike Moore
Deputy Editor, TechRadar Pro

Mike Moore is Deputy Editor at TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a B2B and B2C tech journalist for nearly a decade, including at one of the UK's leading national newspapers and fellow Future title ITProPortal, and when he's not keeping track of all the latest enterprise and workplace trends, can most likely be found watching, following or taking part in some kind of sport.

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