Bill Gates hails AI as a ‘wonderful’ technology that can save humans from climate change and disease – but warns it needs to be used ‘by people with good intent’
- Billionaire Bill Gates warned at a summit in London this week about AI
- READ MORE: Microsoft’s AI tool is being called a ‘privacy nightmare’ by critics
Tech giant Microsoft is one of many companies embracing AI.
So it is perhaps ironic that Microsoft co-founder, multi-billionaire Bill Gates, has warned of its potential dangers.
In London this week, Gates called AI an “amazing” technology that could save humanity from climate change and diseases.
But he warned that it should be used “by people with good intentions,” just as it can be used by criminals “involved in cyber attacks or political interference.”
Gates, one of the world’s 10 richest people, said: “The defense has to be smarter than the offense. And both sides will use AI to improve their game.”
Speaking at the Breakthrough Energy Summit in London, Gates called AI a “tremendous” technology that can save humanity from climate change and disease.
Gates – who co-founded Microsoft with the late Paul Allen in 1974 – spoke at the Breakthrough Energy Summit in London on Thursday, which was also attended by Prince William.
“AI is so important that we must ensure that it is mainly used by people with good intentions,” the businessman said. Sky’s The World with Yalda Hakim.
‘So every time there is a new technology, it is mainly used by teachers, doctors and scientists to help them be more effective.
“If you have someone who is engaged in something like a cyber attack or political interference, AI can be used by them, so you have to make sure that the good guys stay ahead.”
Gates said AI will be a force for good in delivering better healthcare and fighting climate change. He specifically mentioned nuclear fusion energy as a clean alternative to fossil fuels.
‘[With] climate [change]some of the complex things like modeling fusion energy – thank goodness AI will make that much easier,” he said.
Bill Gates and Prince William tour the Innovation Showcase at the Breakthrough Energy Summit in London, June 27, 2024
The common scenario in which AI poses a threat to humanity often involves ‘killer robots’ – but in the short term, AI software could be responsible for security disasters (file photo)
‘AI helps us model things in science: better understanding materials, catalysts, and how to make proteins.
“AI will accelerate innovation in every field, whether it is medicine or tutoring and education.”
Gates ranks seventh on this year’s Forbes list of the richest people in the world, behind the likes of SpaceX founder Elon Musk and French businessman Bernard Arnault.
Gates co-founded Microsoft with Allen after the two met in high school in Seattle in 1968. Both dropped out of college to start the company.
According to Allen’s memoir, he and Gates shared a passion for computers and would often dig through garbage bins to find printouts of computer program code.
In 2000, he stepped down as CEO of Microsoft, but there are still indications that he continues to shape the overall direction of the company behind the scenes.
Microsoft, headquartered in Redmond, Washington, is reported to have a market cap of $3.365 trillion as of June 2024
Bill Gates watches his friend and future Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen type on a teletype terminal at Lakeside School in 1968. Gates was about 13 years old in this photo
According to a recent report by Business insiderGates has ‘quietly’ orchestrated much of Microsoft’s AI revolution.
Microsoft is currently embracing AI wholeheartedly with products like its AI-powered laptops and its Copilot chatbot.
The new Windows laptops feature an ‘AI button’ on the keyboard for quick access to Copilot, a generative artificial intelligence assistant.
Microsoft has also provided financial support to OpenAI, the California-based technology company that created chatbot sensation ChatGPT.