Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates warned artificial intelligence must be regulated by the government and is evolving rapidly and dangerously enough to wipe out much of humanity.
Getting to an agreement on regulating AI, he said, would be tougher than ending the Cold War.
“AI is certainly powerful enough to drive events that, you know, cause a billion deaths,” Mr. Gates said in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Even though it’s pretty hard to get to 100%, there’s never been a weapon as powerful as the combination of people with ill intent using the latest AI tools.”
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Mr. Gates told the network installing a “kill switch” — a proposal put forward by some Congressional lawmakers — won’t be enough to stave off the dangers of the technology.
“You need law enforcement and the politicians to get into the discussion about what safeguards and monitoring look like,” Mr. Gates said. “And that has to be a required thing. And it will be a little bit of overhead for the industry, but not a dramatic slowing of what they’re doing.”
Mr. Gates weighed in amid a divide over the future of AI technology. The White House is resisting calls to regulate, or install “guardrails,” on AI, as are some in the AI industry.
But the leaders of Anthropic and OpenAI are directly calling for government intervention, warning that swarms of uncontrollable AI-powered bots could wipe out humanity.
Mr Gates said negotiating a deal to regulate AI globally will be harder than it was to resolve the Cold War between the United States and the former Soviet Union over nuclear weapons.
“This is more difficult than that was,” Mr. Gates said.
His comments come a day after the White House announced China and the United States have established a “Super Intelligence dialogue” on AI technology.
Politico reported Mr. Trump will dine Sunday night at the White House with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who warned in an online post earlier this month that building AI too quickly is “reckless” and poses significant risks.
The Washington Times was unable to confirm the dinner, but a White House aide told The Times, “President Trump has been clear: America will lead the world in Super Intelligence, while protecting American consumers. We will drive innovation, strengthen American competitiveness, and ensure this transformative technology works for the American people.”
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