Mustafa Suleyman says AI will hit “human‑level performance” on almost all professional tasks in the near future
Millions of Britain’s offices are in peril according to Microsoft’s AI boss, who has predicted that most white‑collar tasks could be “fully automated” by artificial intelligence within the next 12 to 18 months.
Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft’s CEO of AI, said he believes the technology is racing toward “human‑level performance on most, if not all, professional tasks.”
In an interview with the Financial Times, he added: “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.”
Suleyman argues the shift isn’t hypothetical – it’s already started. He pointed to software engineering as an early example, claiming “AI‑assisted coding” has become a mainstay in the industry.
Space baby ban, curing selfish jerks, how close we came to not making it, and runaway black holes are real – all this and more in our latest weird science newsletter
The implication is stark: if the tools can reliably draft contracts, crunch spreadsheets, manage projects, and produce campaigns at a near‑human level, what happens to the people paid to do that work today?
The comments pour petrol on a debate that’s been simmering for years: will AI supercharge productivity and create better jobs – or will ordinary workers end up carrying the can while tech giants bank the winnings?
Some in the industry already forecast sweeping disruption. Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei has warned that AI could replace half of entry‑level white‑collar roles, while more extreme analysts have floated unemployment rates as high as 80% if widespread automation lands with a thud.
If Suleyman’s timeline proves accurate, office life from Canary Wharf to call centres in Sunderland could look unrecognisable by 2027.
It has also rung alarm bells in politics. US Senator Bernie Sanders branded the scenario an “economic earthquake” if it comes to pass, reflecting fears that pay packets, pensions and communities could be shaken if companies swap staff for software at speed.
The jobs named — law, accounting, project management, marketing — are the bread and butter of countless British firms, large and small. It’s not just slick City outfits at risk; it’s council back offices, HR teams, estate agents, recruitment consultants, and every small business where the laptop is the main tool of trade.
However, even AI optimists admit that workplaces are messy, customers are demanding, and regulations take time to implement. Rolling out AI across big organisations involves data wrangling, compliance checks, union talks, testing and retraining.
And plenty of work still needs the human touch – from sensitive client advice and on‑the‑spot judgment to negotiation, care and the kind of accountability no boss will hand to a bot lightly.
