Bill Gates warns AI could lead to humanity's destruction
Photo: Bill Gates (Getty Images)
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has warned that artificial intelligence could lead to catastrophic events with a massive loss of life, according to Bloomberg.
According to the billionaire, AI already possesses sufficient power to, under certain circumstances, trigger the deaths of up to a billion people.
In an interview on one of the programs, Gates noted that the combination of modern AI tools with individuals who intend to use the technology for harm is particularly dangerous.
"There’s never been a weapon as powerful as the combination of people with ill intent using the latest AI tools," he stated.
At the same time, the businessman acknowledged that completely destroying humanity using AI would be difficult. However, in his view, the technology is already powerful enough to trigger events that would lead to the deaths of a vast number of people.
Gates calls for AI regulation
Against the backdrop of these risks, Gates advocated for the introduction of legislative restrictions and state control over the development of artificial intelligence.
He believes that Washington needs to adopt mandatory safety rules for AI. According to Gates, relying exclusively on the self-regulation of technology companies is not an option.
Earlier, Gates also warned that the rapid development of AI would lead to massive changes in the labor market. In an August essay, he wrote that the technology is capable of replacing human labor across several fields simultaneously, including law, medicine, programming, customer service, and manufacturing.
Furthermore, Gates warned about the risk that as AI develops, people could lose control over increasingly autonomous systems.
The billionaire's new statements come amid an ongoing discussion in the tech industry about the potential existential risks of AI.
Шn recent weeks, representatives of developer companies and researchers have also called for a more cautious approach and increased oversight of the technology's development.
Washington is officially against slowing down AI development, as stated by White House head Donald Trump.
Harvard scientists have warned about the potential real formation of an "artificial state," in which AI algorithms gradually replace democratic institutions and human autonomy.
