Bill Gates Warns AI Could Enable Mass Casualties, Urges Mandatory Safeguards

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has warned that AI is already powerful enough to be exploited by malicious actors to cause mass casualties, joining a growing list of tech leaders calling for attention to existential risks. In an interview clip airing the weekend of September 26-27, 2026, Gates said AI could drive events that kill, for example, 1 billion people. He said no weapon in history has been as powerful as the latest AI tools in the hands of ill-intentioned individuals.

Warnings about potentially catastrophic consequences have multiplied as AI advances rapidly. Earlier this month, Anthropic employee Jacob Coxon resigned, accusing his former employers Anthropic and OpenAI of "gambling with our lives" in a "race to superintelligent AI." Another Anthropic employee said he believes the probability of AI wiping out all of humanity within the next decade is above 10%.

Gates stressed that self-regulation by the industry is not enough. "Law enforcement and politicians need to be part of the discussion to decide what safety and monitoring measures should be in place, and they must be mandatory," he said.

In an article published in August 2026, Gates noted that bad actors could use increasingly powerful AI tools to launch cyberattacks, commit fraud, spread disinformation, and cause other forms of large-scale harm to hospitals, financial institutions, power grids and government systems.