Bill Gates wants a robot tax to compensate for job losses

How would you deal with the likelihood that robots and automation will likely lead to many people losing their jobs? For Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, the answer is straightforward: tax the robots. In an interview with Quartz, Gates argues that taxing worker robots would offset job losses by funding training for positions where humans are still needed, such as child and senior care. It could even slow automation to a more manageable rate, if necessary. Gates is well aware of potential pitfalls -- he knows that taxation could ultimately slow innovation by making worker robots prohibitively expensive. However, he's convinced that governments should be "figuring [policy] out" so that they're ready when there's a sudden glut of unemployed workers.