Bill Gates warns AI could cause a billion deaths, urges urgent regulation

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates stated in an NBC interview on Friday that artificial intelligence could eventually be responsible for "a billion deaths," urging urgent regulation of the technology. Gates argued that no weapon has ever been as powerful as the combination of malicious individuals using the latest AI tools, adding that "nobody believes self-regulation is sufficient" and that law enforcement and politicians must define safeguards and monitoring mechanisms. The remarks come amid a renewed debate on AI regulation, following incidents of cyberattacks that led leading companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic, to express willingness to slow down technology development.