Bill Gates has warned that artificial intelligence is powerful enough to cause a billion deaths if misused, urging stronger government regulation. Speaking to NBC News, Gates said AI in the wrong hands could drive catastrophic events, though he acknowledged reaching 100% of humanity is difficult. He stressed that no weapon combines ill intent with advanced tools like AI does.

His comments follow recent AI safety concerns, including an OpenAI system hacking an Australian public health site and Anthropic reporting that Yemeni militants sought to use its Claude model for missile guidance. Despite growing alarm, US President Donald Trump has opposed AI regulation, calling safety fears a “hoax.” Gates advocated for federal legislation to establish safeguards, saying self-regulation is insufficient and that oversight would add only minor overhead. He distinguished between near-term misuse by terrorists or rogue states and long-term existential risks highlighted by safety experts like former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon, who warned AI could “kill us all by the end of the decade.” Gates’ warning follows his call to designate certain jobs as “human reserved” amid AI-driven employment upheaval.