Bill Gates warns AI will transform society more than any human invention, cites bioterrorism risk

Bill Gates says there's 'no upper limit' on AI, citing opportunity and risk

Bill Gates had a front-row seat for the rise of AI, from his longtime work at Microsoft to early demonstrations of key breakthroughs from OpenAI that illustrated the technology's potential. Now he's urging the rest of us to get ready. Likening the situation to his pre-COVID warnings about pandemic preparedness, Gates writes in his annual "Year Ahead" letter Friday morning that the world needs to act before AI's disruptions become unmanageable. But he says that AI's potential to transform healthcare, climate adaptation, and education remains enormous, if we can navigate the risks. "There is no upper limit on how intelligent AIs will get or on how good robots will get, and I believe the advances will not plateau before exceeding human levels," Gates writes. He acknowledges that missed deadlines for artificial general intelligence, or human-level AI, can "create the impression that these things will never happen." But he warns against reaching that conclusion, arguing that bigger breakthroughs are coming, even if the timing remains uncertain. He says he's still optimistic overall. "As hard as last year was, I don't believe we will slide back into the Dark Ages," he writes. "I believe that, within the next decade, we will not only get the world back on track but enter a new era of unprecedented progress." But he adds that we'll need to be "deliberate about how this technology is developed, governed, and deployed" -- and that governments, not just markets, will have to lead AI implementation. More takeaways from the letter: Job disruption is already here. He says AI makes software developers "at least twice as efficient," and that disruption is spreading. Warehouse work and phone support are next. He suggests the world use 2026 to prepare, citing the potential for changes like a shorter work week. Bioterrorism is his top AI concern. Gates warns that "an even greater risk than a naturally caused pandemic is that a non-government group will use open source AI tools to design a bioterrorism weapon." Climate will cause "enormous suffering" without action. Gates cautions that if we don't limit climate change, it will join poverty and infectious disease in hitting the world's poorest people hardest, and even in the best case, temperatures will keep rising. Child mortality went backward in 2025. Stepping outside AI, Gates calls this the thing he's "most upset about." Deaths for children under 5 years old rose from 4.6 million in 2024 to 4.8 million in 2025, the first increase this century, which he traced to cuts in aid from rich countries. AI could leapfrog rich-world farming. Gates predicts AI will soon give poor farmers "better advice about weather, prices, crop diseases, and soil than even the richest farmers get today." The Gates Foundation has committed $1.4 billion to help farmers facing extreme weather. Gates is using AI for his own health. He says he uses AI "to better understand my own health," and sees a future where high-quality medical advice is available to every patient and provider around the clock. AI is now the Gates Foundation's biggest bet in education. Personalized learning powered by AI is "now the biggest focus of the Gates Foundation's spending on education." Gates says he's seen it working firsthand in New Jersey and believes it will be "game changing" at scale. Read the full letter here.

Bill Gates says AI could be used as a bioterrorism weapon akin to the COVID pandemic if it falls into the wrong hands | Fortune

The wheel, the internet, the car, and electricity. All of these human creations pale in comparison to artificial intelligence, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates believes. In his annual letter released today, the Microsoft co-founder wrote that, "Of all the things humans have ever created, AI will change society the most." That change could be ultimately for the better, but it also poses considerable threats to the global population, he wrote. Gates has long been bullish on the opportunities that the revolutionary technology offers, particularly in industries like healthcare and education. However, he has also been mindful of the risks it poses, particularly if it falls into the hands of bad actors. As such, there's a flipside to the major healthcare transformations AI could bring. The 70-year-old philanthropist wrote: "In 2015, I gave a TED talk warning that the world was not ready to handle a pandemic. If we had prepared properly for the Covid pandemic, the amount of human suffering would have been dramatically less." "Today, an even greater risk than a naturally caused pandemic is that a non-government group will use open source AI tools to design a bioterrorism weapon." Gates was keen to highlight that society needs to do more to ready itself for an AI era, and that work so far hasn't been adequate. There are two key issues arising because of the technology, he believes, the first being artificial intelligence being used by bad actors, and the second being disruption to the jobs market. "Both are real risks that we need to do a better job managing," Gates wrote, adding, "We'll need to be deliberate about how this technology is developed, governed, and deployed." Companies and regulators are already grappling with the ramifications of AI being used for harmful outcomes. Only this week, Elon Musk's xAI was told by Britain's Technology Secretary Liz Kendall that it must "urgently" deal with a surge in sexualized images of women and children, generated without consent, by its artificial intelligence-powered tool Grok -- which the company has now partially restricted. No one can quite agree on how significantly AI will upset the labor market. Fed chairman Jerome Powell, for example, said he is watching the data "very carefully" to monitor how deeply the hiring market will shift because of efficiencies offered by the tech. Meanwhile, a note from Oxford Economics this week suggested that "firms don't appear to be replacing workers with AI on a significant scale," suggesting instead that companies may be using the headlines as a cover for routine headcount reductions. "We suspect some firms are trying to dress up layoffs as a good news story rather than bad news, such as past over-hiring," the note explained. Gates described a broader picture: One in which instead of laying off workers, their hours could be reduced or "even decide there are some areas we don't want to use AI in." "In a mathematical sense, we should be able to allocate these new capabilities in ways that benefit everyone," he wrote. "We're already starting to see the impact of AI on the job market, and I think this impact will grow over the next five years," Gates continued. "Even if the transition takes longer than I expect, we should use 2026 to prepare ourselves for these changes -- including which policies will best help spread the wealth and deal with the important role jobs play in our society. Different political parties will likely suggest different approaches."

Microsoft's Bill Gates' big prediction and 'bioterrorism weapon' warning : This one human invention will change society more than anything

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in his annual letter warned that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is that one human invention that will change the society more than anything. Though the tech billionaire acknowledged AI's potential in healthcare and education, he warned of significant threats, including bioterrorism and job market disruption. Today, an even greater risk than a naturally caused pandemic is that a non-government group will use open source AI tools to design a bioterrorism weapon, he wrote in the letter.

Bill Gates Says 'AI Will Change Society the Most' -- Job Disruption Has Already Begun, 'Less Labor' Will Be Needed, And 5-Day Work Week May Disappear

Enter your email to get Benzinga's ultimate morning update: The PreMarket Activity Newsletter Bill Gates says he's still optimistic about the future -- but this time, he brought disclaimers. In his latest annual The Year Ahead letter, published on GatesNotes last week, the Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist laid out what he calls "optimism with footnotes." At the top of those footnotes: artificial intelligence, and the profound impact he believes it's already having on work. "AI capabilities will allow us to make far more goods and services with less labor," Gates wrote. "We're already starting to see the impact of AI on the job market, and I think this impact will grow over the next five years." Don't Miss: The AI Marketing Platform Backed by Insiders from Google, Meta, and Amazon -- Invest at $0.85/Share Sam Altman Says AI Will Transform the Economy -- This Platform Lets Investors Back Private Tech Early Gates, who has spent much of the past decade warning the world about pandemics, energy inequality, and now AI disruption, isn't speculating about the distant future. He points to real-world shifts already underway, especially in software development, where AI tools have doubled the productivity of many workers and slashed the cost of producing code. While automation in warehouses and customer service is lagging slightly behind, Gates warns those sectors will soon feel the effects as AI improves. But his most attention-grabbing line may be what comes next: "As AI delivers on its potential, we could reduce the work week or even decide there are some areas we don't want to use AI in." The idea that society might eventually shorten the work week to absorb labor disruption -- without collapsing into mass unemployment -- isn't new. But Gates presenting it as a real possibility in the near term signals a growing sense that traditional labor markets won't keep up with AI's pace of change. Trending: Invest in a Gaming Marketplace Backed by Early Zynga and PayPal Investors -- From $300. "Even if the transition takes longer than I expect," he wrote, "we should use 2026 to prepare ourselves for these changes -- including which policies will best help spread the wealth and deal with the important role jobs play in our society." Notably, Gates does not endorse universal basic income or any single redistribution mechanism. Instead, he leaves the path forward open-ended, acknowledging that "different political parties will likely suggest different approaches." He frames the challenge not as stopping AI, but managing its risks. In a line that echoes his 2015 TED talk about pandemics, Gates warns that one of the greatest near-term dangers isn't job loss or rogue robots -- it's bioterrorism. "An even greater risk than a naturally caused pandemic is that a non-government group will use open source AI tools to design a bioterrorism weapon," he wrote, calling for more deliberate global governance around AI's development. Still, Gates maintains that the upside of AI is enormous. He sees breakthroughs in personalized education, healthcare access, and agricultural innovation that could reduce inequality -- if countries are willing to scale solutions beyond the free market. "Always-available, high-quality medical advice will improve medicine by every measure," he wrote, pointing to AI's potential to help patients even in the most remote areas. See Also: Missed Tesla? EnergyX Is Tackling the Next $200 Billion Opportunity -- Lithium But that future, he says, won't arrive on its own. "Of all the things humans have ever created, AI will change society the most," Gates wrote. "It will help solve many of our current problems while also bringing new challenges very different from past innovations." As for why he remains hopeful in a time of growing polarization and systemic uncertainty? Gates credits two things: foresight and compassion. "Our ability to anticipate problems and prepare for them," he wrote, "and our capacity to care about each other... are what give me hope as the year begins." As AI reshapes the labor market and compresses the demand for human work, some investors are turning to long-term strategies that don't rely on traditional employment or public market cycles. Platforms like Fundrise offer access to private tech investing -- letting individuals back innovation-stage companies before they ever go public. With a minimum investment of just $10, Fundrise allows everyday investors to diversify into a space once limited to institutions, giving them exposure to the kinds of technology firms helping shape the future Gates is describing. Read Next: Why Billionaires Like Warren Buffett Prefer Real Assets Over Speculation -- Institutional Real Estate Is Now Accessible to Individuals Image: Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs