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Bill Gates understands that artificial intelligence (AI) is only going to get more powerful over time and identifies the three main risks he sees coming with its rapidly increasing development.
While writing a review on his Gates Notes blog about his favorite book on AI, The Coming Wave, the Microsoft founder explained, “In my conversations about AI, I often highlight three main risks we need to consider.
“First is the rapid pace of economic disruption. AI could fundamentally transform the nature of work itself and affect jobs across most industries, including white-collar roles that have traditionally been safe from automation.
“Second is the control problem, or the difficulty of ensuring that AI systems remain aligned with human values and interests as they become more advanced.
“The third risk is that when a bad actor has access to AI, they become more powerful — and more capable of conducting cyber-attacks, creating biological weapons, even compromising national security.”
Bill Gates then digs a little deeper into the last risk he mentions in the development of artificial intelligence.
“This last risk — of empowering bad actors — is what leads to the biggest challenge of our time: containment. How do we limit the dangers of these technologies while harnessing their benefits?
“This is the question at the heart of The Coming Wave, because containment is foundational to everything else. Without it, the risks of AI and biotechnology become even more acute. By solving for it first, we create the stability and trust needed to tackle everything else.”
He then adds, “Of course, that’s easier said than done.”
The author of The Coming Wave, Mustafa Suleyman, doesn’t solve this problem, Gates admits, but he does offer some ideas.
…he lays out an agenda that’s appropriately ambitious for the scale of the challenge—ranging from technical solutions (like building an emergency off switch for AI systems) to sweeping institutional changes, including new global treaties, modernized regulatory frameworks, and historic cooperation among governments, companies, and scientists. When you finish his list of recommendations, you might wonder if we can really accomplish all this in time.
Despite the very real risks Bill Gates sees coming with the development of artificial intelligence, he says he still remains “an optimist.”
“I firmly believe that advances in AI and biotech could help make breakthrough treatments for deadly diseases, innovative solutions for climate change, and high-quality education for everyone a reality,” Gates wrote. “But true optimism isn’t about blind faith. It’s about seeing both the upsides and the risks, then working to shape the outcomes for the better.”