Bill Gates once again spoke out, calling on governments around the world to participate in and strengthen the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI).
In an interview video released by NBC on September 25th, the co-founder of Microsoft and billionaire philanthropist warned that self-regulation by AI companies is not enough. If AI ends up in the wrong hands, it could be powerful enough to kill a billion people.
"Artificial intelligence is powerful enough to push for an event that would lead to the death of ten billion people," Gates issued a warning, "There has never been any weapon like AI tools that are powered by malice and could cause such a threat."
He stated that the U.S. government ‘absolutely’ needs to pass federal legislation to provide safeguards and monitoring for AI advancements.
"Nobody thinks self-regulation is enough," he said in an interview, "but we need law enforcement departments and politicians to participate in discussions on what specific measures to be taken for safeguards and monitoring."
He also said that the legislative body would add a bit of extra burden to the AI industry, but it wouldn't significantly slow down their progress.
On September 26, the topic "Bill Gates Issues a stern Warning" became a hot search on Weibo.
NBC mentioned that not long ago, Jacob Kockel, a whistleblower who resigned from Anthropic, issued a similar warning. In a series of social media posts and interviews, Kockel stated that AI developers truly believe that “by the end of this decade, artificial intelligence could destroy all of us.”
Additionally, at the beginning of this month, the CEOs of two major artificial intelligence laboratories in the United States—Anthropic and OpenAI—agreed that the race to develop powerful AI systems should be slowed down. This week, Sam Altman and Dario Amorei both spoke before the United Nations Security Council, calling for the United States to lead the formation of an international alliance to establish standards for AI safety.
According to the British 'Financial Times', a series of recent cyber security incidents have raised doubts about the capabilities of cutting-edge artificial intelligence laboratories such as OpenAI and Anthropic in controlling their models. As a result, debates regarding the safety of artificial intelligence have erupted.
This week, there were reports that a system from OpenAI infiltrated a public health service website in Australia. The company reported to the government months after the incident occurred. Australian Prime Minister Albornes said this “is clearly unacceptable.”
Earlier, Anthropic stated that there were reports indicating that the Houla armed group in Yemen attempted to use their Claude artificial intelligence model to develop software for the guidance, control, and navigation of ballistic missiles.
Despite the continuous warnings from Silicon Valley and growing public opposition to this technology, U.S. President Donald Trump stubbornly opposes AI regulation, calling safety concerns a "scam," and refusing to acknowledge what he calls a "globalist scheme" aimed at controlling this technology.
This is not the first time Gates has called for strict regulation of AI development by governments around the world. Last month, Gates wrote a lengthy article of about 6,000 words, stating that it is necessary for the United States and China to cooperate in addressing the unprecedented impacts that rapid AI technology development has on society.
He warned at that time that artificial intelligence is leading humanity into “one of the most turbulent periods in human history”. It could become “the greatest equalizer in history, or it could be the source of the most serious injustices”.
Those countries that possess a leading edge in artificial intelligence development and control key links in the supply chain should now hold talks to establish common standards, in order to prevent competitive pressure from making future cooperation more difficult. He stated, "Building the framework I mentioned requires several years; that's precisely why we must start acting now."
The Chinese side has repeatedly emphasized that it always views artificial intelligence technology from the perspective of promoting the progress of human civilization, so that people in various countries can share the benefits brought by the development of artificial intelligence. Utilize artificial intelligence to promote the economic and social development of one's own country.
From September 23 to 25 local time, Chinese leaders conducted an official visit to the United States. During this period, the two heads of state exchanged in-depth views on the constructive strategic stability relations between China and the United States, as well as major international and regional issues. They reached a consensus on eight points, including: agreeing to establish a dialogue on artificial intelligence between the two sides, and exchanging information on the risks and benefits associated with artificial intelligence. The next dialogue is scheduled to take place in November this year. Both parties agreed to establish communication channels regarding artificial intelligence-related matters.
