Bill Gates: AI Could Cause 1 Billion Casualties, Stronger Rules Needed

– Artificial intelligence could cause catastrophic consequences if it falls into the hands of people with malicious intent, to the point of causing events with one billion casualties, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates warned.

In an interview for NBC’s “Meet the Press”, Gates said AI is already powerful enough to drive events with global-scale consequences.

“AI is certainly powerful enough to drive events that cause a billion deaths,” Gates said, stressing that the combination of advanced technology with people who have malicious intent constitutes an unprecedented risk.

Gates argued that self-regulation of the tech industry is not sufficient and called for the involvement of governments and the adoption of legislation that sets limits and safety standards for the development and use of AI.

According to him, the technology must be developed with strong oversight mechanisms, while governments and companies must cooperate to prevent its misuse.

Gates’ warning comes at a time when the debate on regulating artificial intelligence is intensifying in the US and internationally, while industry leaders and experts have raised concerns about the risks of ever more powerful AI models.

Gates, one of the figures who for decades has promoted the transformative potential of technology, has recently added warnings about the possible consequences of uncontrolled development of artificial intelligence.