Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has warned that artificial intelligence could become one of the greatest threats to jobs and human life unless governments and technology companies urgently take steps to control its risks. In a nearly 6, 000-word essay, Gates said the rapid development of AI could produce enormous benefits in areas such as medicine and agriculture but could also trigger widespread unemployment, undermine children’s education and social development, and give criminals, hostile actors or AI systems themselves greater ability to cause harm. “AI will either be the greatest equaliser ever invented, or the worst source of injustice, ” Gates wrote in the essay, titled The turbulent AI era is here. The choices we make now are critical. He said the world was entering a period that could be among the most disruptive in human history and criticised governments, technology leaders and communities for failing to adequately prepare for the transition. “Even under the best circumstances, the transition to this new AI era will be one of the most turbulent times in human history, ” Gates said, adding that he saw no clear plan to ease the transition. ‘Full speed ahead’ In an interview with The New York Times last week, Gates said that AI companies were moving ahead rapidly despite privately recognising the potential dangers. He accused technology executives of downplaying concerns because of the enormous financial incentives surrounding AI, as companies invest trillions of dollars in data centres and AI firms move towards potentially record-breaking stock market listings. “In private, people who understand how good this stuff is, and how much better it’s getting, they’re very worried, ” Gates said. He argued that executives were reluctant to publicly acknowledge those concerns because doing so could jeopardise efforts to raise huge amounts of investment. “They’re just full speed ahead and hoping that the good outweighs the bad, ” he said. Gates said recent advances in AI had exceeded his expectations and that developments once regarded as warning signs had not prompted the level of caution he expected from the industry. He pointed to concerns over AI systems potentially escaping the control of their creators and assisting with the development of biological weapons. In an interview with CNN, Gates said AI models had become dramatically more capable and were advancing faster than he had anticipated. “They’re now capable of causing cyberattack risk, bioterrorism risk, psychosocial risk, ” he said, arguing that existing safeguards and evaluation criteria were inadequate to deal with those threats. AI taxes, human-only work Gates said governments needed to act before AI-driven unemployment becomes widespread and begins to damage communities and public trust. He proposed imposing taxes on AI or robots similar to payroll taxes paid when employing human workers, arguing that such measures could slow the replacement of human labour. He also called for certain jobs to be reserved for humans, saying policymakers should consider limits on where AI can be deployed. “My message to leaders is: You have a chance to act now, before unemployment rises sharply, communities are hurting, and public trust has eroded, ” Gates said. He acknowledged that AI could deliver major advances, particularly in healthcare and agriculture, including new ways of preventing and treating diseases. However, he warned that increasingly powerful models could eventually act against human interests. “As the models become more powerful, they could begin to act against our interests, and we could lose control, ” he said. Gates said he would support a credible global plan to slow AI development but doubted such an agreement was likely because geopolitical and economic competition was driving countries and companies to move rapidly. “I don’t think that’s going to happen, ” he wrote. “The geopolitical and economic incentives are pushing too hard to go full speed ahead. ” The warnings come as Gates, 70, returns to a more prominent public role following renewed scrutiny over his past interactions with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and disclosures surrounding his personal life. Gates described those episodes as mistakes of his own making and said he believed his testimony before a US House committee had helped clarify what he did and did not do. “I think people understand what I did do, what I didn’t do and that I learn when I make mistakes, ” he said.
Bill Gates urges limits on AI to prevent job losses, human harm
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