“One Billion Deaths”: Bill Gates Sounds the Alarm Over AI

Bill Gates does not mince his words about the risks of AI. Interviewed by an NBC program, the Microsoft co-founder said that artificial intelligence is “certainly powerful enough to cause events leading to a billion deaths.”NBC,“certainly powerful enough to cause events leading to a billion deaths”. Coming from Bill Gates, the statement may come as a surprise.He has indeed always distinguished himself through his optimism about technology and its impact on humanity.

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Not a “hoax”

Unsurprisingly, Bill Gates is mainly concerned about people who could get their hands on artificial intelligence and use it to commit malicious acts. According to him, “the most dangerous thing today is malicious people using AI”. Among the risks, he particularly cites fraud and cyberattacks on electrical grids. In his view, the game has already changed from a cybersecurity standpoint.

“Historically, only countries had cyberattack teams. Today, small groups equipped with AI can do what only the largest countries could do”, says Bill Gates.

Recent events have vindicated Bill Gates. A recent Anthropic report notably showed that numerous criminal organizations are using artificial intelligence to orchestrate different types of attacks.

The Microsoft co-founder did not hesitate to mention Donald Trump’s remarks, according to which warnings about AI are nothing more than a hoax. The US president refuses to consider slowing down artificial intelligence research for fear that China will take advantage to get ahead.

Bill Gates bluntly answered that the warnings issued by the AI giants are not a hoax. The Microsoft founder was, however, optimistic about Trump. He believes the U.S. president could “reconsider his position”in the near future. He says he wants to meet him to discuss regulation.

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Self-regulation is no longer enough

For Bill Gates, tech giants can no longer settle for setting their own rules. According to him, “nobody thinks self-regulation is enough”, he hammered home. Governments must take up the issue of AI and put strong regulatory measures in place. He therefore calls on U.S. elected officials and authorities to take up the matter as a matter of urgency.

“Law enforcement and politicians need to join the discussion on what safeguards and oversight should look like. And this must become an obligation”, the billionaire insisted.

According to him, these constraints must remain limited. However stringent these restrictions may be, they must not hinder the industry’s growth. He talks of “an additional burden on the industry, but not a dramatic slowdown in what it does”.Bill Gates also dismissed the idea that a simple “stop button” could serve as a safeguard for artificial intelligence.

Gates nevertheless recommends not giving in to panic. The Microsoft founder rejects the idea of AI that is already “out of control”. For now, this technology is not capable of taking control of computer systems by itself to the point where they can no longer be shut down by humans. It does not control “millions of robots” either, and humans remain in control when it comes to “turning off the computer”. In short, he

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Silicon Valley is divided over AI

Bill Gates is not the only one sounding the alarm. Several AI lab heads, including Sam Altman (OpenAI), Dario Amodei (Anthropic), and Elon Musk (xAI), have recently argued publicly for government oversight of the technology. OpenAI has also said it is willing to scale back its research, provided it is not the only one to suspend its operations.

Obviously, not everyone agrees with waiting and being regulated by the authorities. Meta’s head, Mark Zuckerberg, believes industry coordination is unnecessary. Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, shares the same view.He believes that doomsday scenarios about AI are unlikely to materialize.

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