Bill Gates Warns AI Will Be Designed ‘By And For The Richest’ Without Regulation

0:00Billionaire Bill Gates urged world leaders to act to ensure that AI does not worsen global inequality, as his Gates Foundation published its annual Goalkeepers Report on Tuesday and pledged$1 billion to expand access to AI technologies, amid broader warnings from tech leaders about AI safety. In a statement accompanying the report, which tracks the progress of the United Nations' sustainable development goals, Gates wrote that AI could be a great equalizer or widen the gap. The Microsoft co-founder said he has lived through the personal computing revolution, but nothing has felt like the current moment with AI, which he said is moving faster and reaching more people than anything before it.

0:44Gates warned that if things are left to the market, AI will be designed by and for the richest people in the world. The billionaire argued that the decisions on AI made in the next 12 to 18 months will determine if the technology benefits the people who already have the most or reaches those who have the least. Gates added that AI can be harnessed for good, but noted it won't happen by accident. In terms of the Gates Foundation's$1 billion pledge over the next two years, 40 % of the funds would support education, including AI tutoring, and 40 % would support healthcare uses like diagnostics, clinical decision-making, and developing new drugs and vaccines.

1:25Agriculture would receive 10 % of the funding to help small farmers with AI, and the remaining 10 % would fund building a digital foundation that equitable AI depends on. The report also outlined three key proposals for immediate action, including making AI tools accessible in every language and allowing countries to decide how data is managed. Late last month, Gates penned a 6 ,000-word essay warning about the risks posed by AI. In it, he wrote that the transition to the AI era will be one of the most turbulent times in human history, and added that unfortunately, right now, we are not preparing for it.

2:04Gates warned that AI could cause many jobs to disappear forever, and that bad actors could use AI to do major harm, including fraud, disinformation, deepfakes, cyber attacks and bioterrorism. Gates also said the technology could stunt children's development, as they turned to AI companies to replace human relationships. For more on this story, click the link in the description.