Bill Gates warns AI could cause billion deaths

Bill Gates has warned that artificial intelligence is powerful enough to cause catastrophic loss of life, saying the combination of advanced AI tools and malicious actors could pose an unprecedented threat to humanity.

NBC News released a clip on Friday from Gates’ interview with “Meet the Press,” in which the billionaire philanthropist was asked about warnings from AI workers that the technology could potentially wipe out humanity.

“AI is certainly powerful enough to drive events that … cause a billion deaths,” Gates said, adding that “there’s never been a weapon as powerful as the combination of people with ill intent using the latest AI tools.”

Gates was also asked about a recent essay by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who called for a slowdown in AI development and urged frontier laboratories to “voluntarily work together to set standards” around the technology.

Gates rejected the idea that the industry could adequately police itself.

“No one thinks self-regulation is enough,” he said, arguing that there “absolutely” needs to be legislation governing AI. He added that “you need law enforcement and the politicians to get into the discussion about what safeguards and monitoring look like.”

Amodei’s essay likewise called for government involvement, although he cautioned that “Unfortunately, passing laws can take time, and AI is advancing very quickly.”

The future of federal AI regulation in the United States remains uncertain. Republican leaders in Congress have downplayed the issue, while President Donald Trump has strongly opposed AI guardrails and dismissed calls for regulation as a “hoax.”

By Tamilla Hasanova