Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has warned that artificial intelligence is powerful enough to drive events causing a billion deaths, emphasizing the danger of the technology falling into the hands of people with malicious intent.
In excerpts from an exclusive interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, recorded on September 23, 2026, and set to air in full on Sunday, September 27, Gates responded to a question about whether AI could end all of humanity.
“AI is certainly powerful enough to drive events that, you know, cause a billion deaths… so even though it’s pretty hard to get to 100%, there’s never been a weapon as powerful as the combination of people with ill intent using the latest AI tools,” he said.
Gates framed the risk primarily as misuse by bad actors rather than autonomous AI systems independently deciding to harm humanity. He pointed to the unprecedented destructive potential of advanced AI tools when combined with human intent, a theme he has raised in recent writings about cyberattacks, biological threats, fraud, and large-scale disruption of critical infrastructure such as hospitals, power grids, financial systems, and government services.
The comments come amid growing public concern within the AI industry itself. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei recently called on frontier AI companies to slow the pace of model development to mitigate risks, a position that has drawn support from some peers. When asked whether industry self-regulation is sufficient, Gates was unequivocal.
“No one thinks self-regulation is enough,” he said. “Absolutely. You need law enforcement and the politicians to get into the discussion about what safeguards and monitoring look like. And that has to be a required thing. And it will be a little bit of overhead for the industry, but not a dramatic slowing of what they’re doing.”
Gates’ latest remarks build on a lengthy essay he published in late August 2026 on his Gates Notes website. In that piece, he described the arrival of advanced AI as ushering in “one of the most turbulent times in human history” and warned that, on the current trajectory, there is “a very high chance of a net negative outcome.” He identified major risks including rapid job displacement across white- and blue-collar sectors, empowered criminals using AI for sophisticated attacks, easier development of dangerous pathogens, and psychosocial harms, particularly to children. He also stated that if a credible global plan existed to slow AI advances, he would likely support it, though he expressed doubt that competitive pressures—especially between the United States and China—would allow it.
The Microsoft co-founder, long viewed as an optimist about technology’s potential to improve health, education, and productivity through his philanthropic work, has grown more vocal about AI’s downsides in recent months. In a mid-September interview with CBS Mornings, he described AI as “almost an evolutionary event” that most of society still underestimates and pushed back against characterizations of serious risk warnings as a “hoax.”
Gates’ call for mandatory government involvement in setting safeguards aligns with regulatory steps already taken in the European Union, where rules on general-purpose AI models include the ability to impose significant fines. In the United States, however, the political climate remains divided, with some leaders prioritizing rapid development to maintain a competitive edge.
