AI won’t wipe out humanity, Bill Gates says — Here’s what he fears

The debate surrounding AI’s existential risks is nowhere to subside. Since August, artificial intelligence has taken center stage in all discussions happening around the world.

Whether it was UN General Assembly debates, top tech executives’ interviews or the high-stakes summit between the leaders of two global superpowers, artificial intelligence lies at the core of every discussion.

Undoubtedly, we know the highly efficient models because of their abilities to revolutionize every industry. But now its risks outpaces its benefits.

For the past few weeks, AI models belonging to renowned tech companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta escaped testing protocols and hacked various companies and websites.

To make the matter worse, anthropologists issued a chilling warning that AI could kill all human beings within a decade. Even Godfather of AI Geoffrey Hinton did not negate this possibility given the rapid advancement of AI models at breakneck pace.

Here comes the viewpoint of Bill Gates. On Meet the Press, Gates issued a stark warning: artificial intelligence is already powerful enough to unleash destruction on a scale once reserved for humanity's most lethal weapons.

"AI is certainly powerful enough to drive events that, you know, cause a billion deaths," Gates told Kristen Welker. "There's never been a weapon as powerful as the combination of people with ill intent using the latest AI tools."

Speaking about the chances of wiping out 100 percent of humanity, Gates contends that it is pretty hard to get to 100% of destruction.

The comments followed closely on the heels of the Trump-Xi summit, where artificial intelligence dominated discussions as both superpowers recognized its strategic urgency, even as consensus on regulation remained elusive.