Bill Gates's Blunt Warning on A.I.
About this episode
Bill Gates tells Ezra Klein that A.I. alarmism has not gone far enough. He argues the years ahead will bring catastrophic cyberattacks, bio-terrorism, and mass job loss unless governments act, and calls the idea that the A.I. industry can regulate itself insane. What struck Klein, he says, was how genuinely frightened Gates seemed that society is unready for what is being built — and how emphatic he was that people in positions of authority are in denial about what is coming. Gates, who recently made steering A.I. toward global equality a priority of his foundation, frames the technology as either the greatest equalizer ever invented or the worst source of injustice, with no plan in place for the transition. The conversation is a plea for legislation and public preparation before the damage arrives rather than after.