Bill Gates warned of ‘a billion deaths’ from AI, then laughed while explaining the one thing he’ll never ask a chatbot

In the past few months, skepticism around Artificial Intelligence (AI) has grown, including conversations about the need for more regulation. Some of the people weighing in on the issue are actively involved in the industry. Big names include Microsoft founder Bill Gates, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and  Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

While all of these individuals have warned the public about AI at different points in the past month, Gates’ comments are gaining traction right now because of their strong wording, which is enough to set off alarm bells. On Sunday, Gates spoke with NBC’s Kristen Welker and alleged that if AI was left unchecked, it could cause deaths. 

“AI is certainly powerful enough to drive events that, you know, cause a billion deaths. You know, so 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,” Gates said while warning of the dangers of AI. He also stressed that while companies developing AI could self-regulate, it is not “enough.” Gates said, “You need law enforcement and the politicians to get into the discussion about what safeguards and monitoring look like, and that has to be a required thing.”

Gates also offered insight into what greater regulation could mean for these companies in terms of overhead costs, which are ongoing costs a business must pay to operate that aren’t directly tied to creating a particular product or service. Highlighting it wouldn’t create much impact on the industry, Gates said, “It will be a little bit of overhead for the industry, but not a dramatic slowing of what they’re doing.”

The NBC episode wasn’t all serious talk. During a comparatively light-hearted moment, Gates spoke about the one thing he would never use AI for. “Well, I’m not using it for my personal relationships. I’m not like: ‘Hey, do you like me? Hey, am I a nice guy?’” Gates said. He added, “So I just never went down that path, because I’m lucky in terms of my family, friends, and everything. I don’t socialize with the AI. It knows I’m a very serious person.”

Gates said a “kill switch” is not enough to shut down AI

For technology like AI, a “kill switch” matters to ensure that when it acts unpredictably, operations can be paused, halted, or permanently stopped. During his NBC interview, Gates also discussed the need for such a mechanism for AI, but said it wasn’t developed to its full potential yet and stressed the need for ways to do the same job.

Gates said, “It’s not enough to have a kill switch.” He added, “We’re not yet at the point where … they autonomously grab computers and, you know, can’t be shut down. So that discussion … just sort of shows how non-technical various people are.”

Gates’ comments come as the Trump administration pushes for an AI boom in the United States. Just last week, Trump even hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, in America for discussions about AI.

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