HighLights
  1. Bill Gates warns AI misuse could lead to a billion deaths.
  2. He states AI with ill intent is an unprecedented weapon.
  3. Other tech leaders also voice concerns about AI extinction.

Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates made an alarming statement about AI (artificial intelligence) in an interview with NBC News. The news outlet on Friday released a clip of Gates’ interview with “Meet the Press”, which drew people's attention across the globe to the AI threat.

In the video clip, when the billionaire was asked about warnings from AI workers that the technology could potentially wipe out humanity, the philanthropist said it may cause a billion deaths.

Elaborating on his stance, Gates said AI is certainly powerful enough to drive events that cause a billion deaths. He asserted that there's never been a weapon as powerful as the combination of people with ill intent using the latest AI tools.

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With his statement on the AI threat, he joined the chorus of tech leaders and employees who raised alarm on AI-driven risks.

'AI Could Kill All Humans': Anthropic Researcher

Earlier this month, researcher Jacob Coxon quit Anthropic and said the firm and its competitors are "gambling with our lives". "We really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans," added current Anthropic researcher Evan Hubinger in a post on X.

Coxon isn't the first to down tools over fears of AI doom. The idea that AI could wipe out humanity, advanced in Nick Bostrom's 2014 book Superintelligence and the influential LessWrong forum, has long circulated among researchers.

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There are many scenarios for how this could happen, but the core idea is that AI smarter than humans could escape our control and destroy us.

In 2024, Jan Leike and Daniel Kokotajlo quit OpenAI over safety concerns. This year, Anthropic safety chief Mrinank Sharma departed, warning "the world is in peril".

Alex Turner left Google DeepMind after it signed a deal with the Pentagon permitting "killer drones". But Coxon's resignation has made waves, with more researchers admitting they think AI might kill everyone.

AI leaders acknowledge the risk of losing control and killing everyone. In 2023, the chief executives of OpenAI, Anthropic and Google DeepMind agreed that AI extinction risk should rank alongside pandemics and nuclear war.
(With Agencies Inputs)

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