From Bioterrorism To Job Losses: Bill Gates Says Real AI Risks Will Hit Sooner Than Most People Expect

In a blog post, Gates said there is no upper limit to how intelligent AI technology can become or how good robots will become.

• Gates cautioned that an even greater risk than a pandemic today is the use of AI by bad actors to design a bioterrorism weapon.
• The Microsoft co-founder added that AI has already become good enough to cause disruption in areas such as software development.
• He cautioned that the impact of AI on the job market will only grow over the next five years.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Friday warned about two major risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI) technology — bioterrorism and the disruption to the job market.

In a blog post, Gates said that there is no upper limit to how intelligent AI technology can become or how good robots will become. This comes at a time when some AI startups, such as OpenAI, are working to achieve artificial general intelligence (AGI), while companies like Tesla are developing humanoid robots.

“When people in the AI space predict that AGI or fully humanoid robots will come soon and then those deadlines are missed, it creates the impression that these things will never happen,” Gates said, warning against becoming complacent about the risks posed by AI.

Risk Of Bioterrorism

Gates cautioned that an even greater risk than a pandemic today is the use of AI by bad actors to design a bioterrorism weapon.

He recalled his 2015 TED Talk, in which he warned that the world was not prepared to handle a pandemic.

Five years later, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, resulting in the death of more than seven million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

Disruption Of The Job Market

The Microsoft co-founder added that AI has gotten good enough that it is already causing disruption in areas like software development. While other areas, like warehousing or phone support, are not as affected, he warned that once the AIs become more capable, the job disruption will be more immediate.

“AI capabilities will allow us to make far more goods and services with less labor. In a mathematical sense, we should be able to allocate these new capabilities in ways that benefit everyone,” he said.

He cautioned that the impact of AI on the job market will only grow over the next five years.

“Both are real risks that we need to do a better job managing. We’ll need to be deliberate about how this technology is developed, governed, and deployed,” Gates said.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities gained in Wednesday’s opening trade. At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was up by 0.28%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) rose 0.27%. Retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF on Stocktwits was in the ‘bullish’ territory.

The iShares U.S. Technology ETF (IYW) was up 0.33%, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was up 0.61% at the time of writing.

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