BILL GATES WARNS AI COULD CAUSE ‘A BILLION DEATHS’

Sun 27 September 2026:

On Wednesday, Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates urged lawmakers in Washington to impose regulations on artificial intelligence development. This call comes just weeks after the CEOs of several major AI laboratories in the country agreed on the necessity to slow down the rapid advancement of AI technology.

In an interview with NBC News, Bill Gates emphasized that self-regulation is insufficient, stating that politicians and law enforcement in Washington should be directly involved in security measures and oversight processes.

The businessman stated that companies deciding to slow down on their own would be inadequate, arguing that a legal imperative is essential to prevent malicious individuals from causing large-scale damage using the latest artificial intelligence tools.

In Wednesday’s interview, Gates didn’t downplay the risk that AI could wipe out humanity in several years, but called for Americans not to ignore the risks that AI could be used by bad actors to cause large-scale harm as soon as today.

“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,” he said.

Recently, CEOs of major AI labs like Anthropic and OpenAI have agreed that development needs to be slowed down, while a whistleblower who resigned from Anthropic claimed that companies were endangering human lives like gamblers.

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In contrast, House Speaker Mike Johnson argues that Congress should not take hasty steps that would harm national security, stating that companies have not yet presented a clear legal roadmap.

There are sharp disagreements among technology world leaders regarding the speed and safety of artificial intelligence. While OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called for international standards and meaningful human oversight at the United Nations, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg argues that there is no need for industry-wide coordination and each lab should ensure its own internal security.

Microsoft President Brad Smith, on the other hand, emphasizes that companies should prioritize passenger safety above all else, rather than constantly competing with each other. While federal-level discussions continue, governors of states like California, Maryland, and New York have begun to implement new plans and executive orders to strengthen AI safety in their regions.

Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, on Wednesday spoke before a gathering of the United Nations, calling for international standards for “measuring capabilities, assessing risks, determining whether safeguards are sufficient and preserving meaningful human oversight” over AI.

Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg disagreed with that approach.

“I don’t think that we need some kind of industrywide coordination,” he told NBC News in an interview published Thursday. “I think that each lab needs to take the time, and when it sees that there are issues, you just take the time that you need internally to basically make sure that you’re proceeding safely.”

At the state level, some governors have already begun the process of regulating AI companies and the data centers they use to power their development.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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