Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates has warned that artificial intelligence could potentially contribute to the deaths of up to one billion people if advanced AI tools fall into the hands of malicious actors.
Speaking in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, Gates called for mandatory safeguards and monitoring systems for AI developers, arguing that voluntary industry self-regulation would not be sufficient to address the technology’s potential risks.
“You need law enforcement and the politicians to get into the discussion about what safeguards and monitoring look like,” Gates said. “And that has to be a required thing.”
Gates acknowledged that additional regulation could impose some costs on the AI industry but argued that it would not necessarily significantly slow technological development.
“It will be a little bit of overhead for the industry — but not a dramatic slowing of what they’re doing,” he said.
He also issued a stark warning about the consequences of advanced AI falling into the hands of people with malicious intentions.
“There’s never been a weapon as powerful as the combination of people with ill intent using the latest AI tools,” Gates said.
He added that AI could be “certainly powerful enough to drive events that, you know, cause a billion deaths.”
Asked about the possibility of an AI “kill switch” capable of shutting down systems if they become too powerful, Gates said such a mechanism alone would not adequately address the broader risks associated with advanced AI.
“It’s not enough to have a kill switch,” he said, noting that current AI systems have not yet reached the stage where they can independently take control of computers and prevent themselves from being switched off.
Gates’ latest comments come after an essay he published last month in which he warned about the potential dangers posed by increasingly capable AI systems. Although he has generally maintained an optimistic outlook on the potential of technology to benefit humanity, Gates has also repeatedly called for stronger safeguards as AI development accelerates.
Other prominent technology figures, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, have similarly raised concerns about the potential risks of advanced AI and called for greater oversight of its development.
