Bill Gates believes artificial intelligence now has enough power to trigger events that could lead to up to a billion deaths. Indeed, in an extract from an interview given to the American show “Meet the Press »the co-founder of Microsoft essentially invokes the danger that the use of the most advanced models by malicious actors could represent. He calls for rapid intervention from public authorities, because he considers that the self-regulation of technological companies is insufficient.
In brief
- Bill Gates believes that AI can cause major disasters if used for malicious purposes.
- It evokes an extreme scenario that could result in up to a billion deaths.
- He considers the self-regulation of technology companies insufficient.
- He calls on governments to impose security rules and external controls.
- He believes that States remain ill-prepared for the risks associated with the most advanced models.
Bill Gates calls for legal safeguards
Asked about the possibility that AI could be a threat to the very existence of humanity, Bill Gates did not indicate that a catastrophe was inevitable. Instead, he put forward an extreme scenario that this technology would make possible if it were misused for destructive purposes.
He has specified in the excerpt broadcast on September 25 by NBC News:
AI is certainly powerful enough to trigger events that cause a billion deaths.
Therefore, he also underlined that humanity had never known a weapon as dangerous as the combination of ill-intentioned individuals and the most advanced AI tools.
His intervention highlights four main messages:
- The billion deaths correspond to a potential scenario, not a numerical forecast;
- The main threat mentioned is based on the malicious use of AI;
- Companies cannot define the rules governing their models alone;
- Governments must organize monitoring and enforcement of security measures.
“No one thinks that self-regulation is enough”has added Bill Gates. According to him, political leaders and law enforcement must participate in defining the control, monitoring and prevention systems applicable to the most powerful systems.
The full interview is due to air on Sunday September 27. The available statements do not specify the exact mechanism likely to result in such a heavy toll. They return however, to the risks regularly associated with cyberattacks, biological weapons and autonomous systems beyond the control of their operators.
Governments deemed insufficiently prepared
This statement continues a recent hardening of Bill Gates’ speech. On September 15, he affirmed already that no government was sufficiently prepared for the transformations that artificial intelligence will impose on society. His concerns also relate to job cuts, computer attacks and dependence on virtual companions.
The former Microsoft leader, however, is not calling for a complete halt to the development of AI. Instead, he wants the most advanced models to be subject to safety obligations, external controls and mechanisms to quickly identify dangerous uses.
This position partially matches that of Dario Amodei. The head of Anthropic called on laboratories to voluntarily slow down certain developments and establish common standards. For Gates, coordination between companies would nevertheless remain insufficient without legislative intervention.
The development of a common framework faces many obstacles, according to on-chain data. The United States and China consider AI as an economic and strategic issue. This vision encourages each country to prioritize the speed of innovation. International regulation could also suppose an agreement on the models concerned, compulsory tests and the liability of companies in the event of an incident.
AI also remains a health and development tool
Despite his warning, Bill Gates continues to highlight the beneficial uses of artificial intelligence. He believes that this technology would improve healthcare, education and agriculture, mainly in regions where specialists and infrastructure remain insufficient.
Thus, the Gates Foundation plans to invest at least one billion dollars over two years to expand access to AI solutions in these areas. It also works with companies like Anthropic, Google and OpenAI to better represent languages that are rarely present in training data.
This strategy illustrates Bill Gates’ dual message. AI could become a powerful instrument for reducing inequalities, but also aggravate existing risks if its development remains unchecked. The debate is therefore no longer only about the capabilities of future models. It now concerns the rules to be put in place before their power exceeds that of the devices responsible for monitoring them.
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