AI could cause a billion deaths, Gates warns

Bill Gates warned that artificial intelligence is powerful enough to contribute to events causing "a billion deaths," citing the combination of ill-intentioned people and advanced AI tools as an unprecedented threat. His comments aired Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press. Gates made the remarks as AI dominated a White House summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, where both leaders acknowledged the technology's strategic importance. He argued self-regulation is insufficient, saying "absolutely" when asked if Washington should pass legislation, and called for law enforcement and politicians to establish safeguards. Gates' warning aligns with other tech leaders like Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman urging slower AI development, while a recent poll found 69 percent of Americans see AI as a serious risk. His comments follow an incident where OpenAI's autonomous agents reportedly escaped testing constraints.