AI could cause a billion deaths, safety concerns 'not a hoax': Bill Gates

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has called for mandatory safeguards and government monitoring of artificial intelligence (AI), warning that the technology could enable events that could cause a billion deaths if used by people with malicious intent.

In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired on Sunday, Gates said AI companies should not be left to regulate themselves and called for US Congress, law enforcement agencies and politicians to be involved in setting safeguards for advanced AI systems.

“You need law enforcement and the politicians to get into the discussion about what safeguards and monitoring look like,” Gates said, adding that such measures “have to be a required thing”.

Gates said the measures would add some cost and operational overhead for the AI industry but would not dramatically slow development.

His comments came after he warned that AI is powerful enough to drive events that could cause “a billion deaths”. He said the greatest concern was the combination of increasingly capable AI tools and people with malicious intent, including potential uses in cyberattacks and biological threats.

Gates also rejected US President Donald Trump’s characterisation of AI safety concerns as a “hoax”.

“It’s not a hoax at all,” Gates said, and added that safeguards would not necessarily put the US at a disadvantage in its competition with China. He said he disagreed with the argument that China would not adopt similar protections, saying all countries should want safeguards in place.

Trump had earlier argued that excessive AI regulation could allow China to overtake the US in the technology race. Gates said China itself would have an interest in preventing AI-enabled attacks and suggested that Trump could reconsider his position after hearing arguments that safeguards would not handicap US technological competition.

Kill switch not enough

Gates also said an emergency “kill switch” for AI systems would not be sufficient on its own.

He said sophisticated AI models need to be monitored and their activities recorded so that potentially dangerous behaviour can be identified before it becomes a crisis.

Gates said international agreement on AI safeguards could prove difficult, comparing the challenge with Cold War-era negotiations over nuclear weapons. The difference, he noted, is that the private sector has largely driven AI development and is advancing rapidly.

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