Eric Yuan is the founder and CEO of Zoom, the video-calling company that took off during the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, millions of people were working from home and were looking for new ways to stay connected. Zoom has become one of the most recognisable technology companies in the world, and Yuan has spent years thinking about the future of work. Now he believes artificial intelligence — AI — will bring about the next big change.

Yuan predicts that within five years, most people will only need to work three or four days a week. “If AI can make all of our lives better, why do we need to work for five days a week?” he said. He believes that AI “agents” — programs that can carry out tasks automatically — will handle much of the work that humans do today. For example, instead of spending hours in meetings, a worker could send an AI “digital twin” (a virtual copy of themselves) to attend instead. Yuan has already tried this himself — earlier this year, he sent his own AI avatar to speak at a financial meeting while he was working on something else.

This is not the first time that technology has changed the working week. In the early 20th century, most factory workers were putting in six days a week. Then Henry Ford introduced powerful new machines in his car factories. Productivity went up, the workweek came down, and five days became the new normal. Yuan believes AI could set off an even bigger shift.

Other business leaders have come out in support of this idea. Bill Gates has said that people might only need to work two or three days a week in the future. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has predicted a four-day workweek, though he warned that the work itself might become more intense.

However, not everyone has welcomed these predictions. Yuan has acknowledged that some jobs will disappear because of AI. Entry-level positions may be phased out as machines take over routine tasks. But he also believes that new roles will come up — someone will still need to look after the AI systems and check their work.

The debate is far from over, but one thing is clear: the world of work has already started to change, and the five-day workweek may not stick around forever.