September 6, 2026
Deutsch / English
In many companies right now, the tasks still done by people aren't there because someone decided they should be. Chances are they're still there because the company-wide AI transformation backlog hasn't reached them yet. That's not a policy. That's a queue.
Bill Gates recently floated the idea of a "Human Reserved" category: work we protect from AI on purpose, the way we protect land from development. Great idea. Also not viable in many companies, because that requires a choice made before you're forced to make it. And a lot of organizations only make choices under pressure.
Here's what actually happens instead. Whichever team ships the automation first wins the default. Say a team replaces the company hotline with an AI voice bot. If they manage to do so before anyone asks whether a first-time customer needs a human on the other end, there's a good chance that question never gets raised again - especially once there are no human call center agents left, because the automation effort scrapped the entire department. Put another way: if nobody has decided something should stay human, it just didn't get automated yet.
The fix certainly won't come from your ethics committee. Leadership naming the "Human Reserved" list can help, but the shortlist of interactions where human contact is supposed to stay non-negotiable has to happen quickly. You have to be early - definitely before the automation backlog gets there. Reserves work because someone draws the line before the bulldozer arrives, not after.
Draw yours now. The idea of "Human Reserved" is only viable if you make the choice before you're forced to.
The queue does not wait for permission.
Decide what has to stay human. Do it now. Before it's too late.