Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, urged United States federal legislators and law enforcement to regulate artificial intelligence, cautioning that the technology could cause "a billion deaths" if left unchecked. Gates made these remarks during an interview with Kristen Welker on NBC's "Meet the Press," excerpts of which were released Friday, ahead of its full broadcast on Sunday. He emphasized that "no one thinks self-regulation is enough" for the AI industry.
Gates asserted that "you need law enforcement and the politicians to get into the discussion about what safeguards and monitoring look like," adding that such measures "have to be a required thing." He described the potential cost to the industry as "a little bit of overhead," but not a "dramatic slowing" of development.
The Microsoft co-founder highlighted the unprecedented danger posed by AI when wielded by malicious actors. "There's never been a weapon as powerful as the combination of people with ill intent using the latest AI tools," Gates stated. He did not predict an immediate civilization-ending catastrophe but stressed the urgent need to address the threat of bad actors exploiting AI for widespread harm.
Gates's comments align with a broader debate among technology leaders and policymakers regarding AI safety and governance. Other prominent figures, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, have also called for a slowdown in AI development and international coordination on safety measures. Amodei, in a recent essay, advocated for frontier labs to voluntarily set standards while also acknowledging the necessity of government involvement.
Gates's interview follows a nearly 6,000-word essay he published in late August, which outlined his concerns about AI's potential for large-scale societal disruption. In that essay, he identified three primary risks: widespread job displacement, AI lowering the barrier for cyberattacks and the creation of dangerous pathogens, and potential harm to human relationships and childhood development. He specifically warned that AI could facilitate access to information for creating bioweapons and enable cyberattacks on critical infrastructure such as hospitals and power grids.
The European Union has already implemented regulatory measures for AI. Since August 2025, Article 55 of the AI Act has required providers of general-purpose models with systemic risk to conduct adversarial testing, assess risks at a union level, and report serious incidents without undue delay. As of August 2026, the European Commission can impose fines of up to 3% of worldwide annual turnover or €15 million for non-compliance.
The US government, however, has maintained a cautious stance on slowing AI development or establishing new international regulatory frameworks. This contrasts with calls from some industry leaders for the US to lead in establishing international technical standards for advanced AI. The full interview with Bill Gates on "Meet the Press" is scheduled to air on Sunday.