The wheel, the internet, the car, and electricity. All of these human creations pale in comparison to artificial intelligence, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates believes. In his annual letter released today, the Microsoft co-founder wrote that, “Of all the things humans have ever created, AI will change society the most.”
That change could be ultimately for the better, but it also poses considerable threats to the global population, he wrote.
Gates has long been bullish on the opportunities that the revolutionary technology offers, particularly in industries like healthcare and education. However, he has also been mindful of the risks it poses, particularly if it falls into the hands of bad actors.
As such, there’s a flipside to the major healthcare transformations AI could bring. The 70-year-old philanthropist wrote: “In 2015, I gave a TED talk warning that the world was not ready to handle a pandemic. If we had prepared properly for the Covid pandemic, the amount of human suffering would have been dramatically less.”
“Today, an even greater risk than a naturally caused pandemic is that a non-government group will use open source AI tools to design a bioterrorism weapon.”
