Bill Gates warns AI could cause a billion deaths and urges federal regulation

Bill Gates warned in a new interview that artificial intelligence could enable mass casualties on an unprecedented scale, potentially causing a billion deaths, and urged lawmakers to pass federal legislation regulating the technology. Gates told NBC News' Meet the Press that no weapon has ever matched the power of AI combined with malicious intent, and he stated that government monitoring and enforcement must become mandatory, as industry self-regulation is insufficient. His comments follow a recent essay identifying risks including job losses, cyberattacks, bioweapon creation, and harm to children, amid ongoing debates in Washington and Silicon Valley over AI governance and state-level regulatory proposals.