Bill Gates has warned that the pressing questions world leaders need to address as AI improves and looks set to replace and exceed human cognition have yet to be tackled.
In a 5,000-word essay published on GatesNotes, where the co-founder of Microsoft writes about his philanthropic work, Mr Gates said AI will be either the greatest equaliser ever invented or the worst source of injustice.
“The challenge is monumental. Even under the best circumstances, the transition to this new AI era will be one of the most turbulent times in human history,” he wrote.
“How will we use this technology to make the world a fairer place and keep it from widening the divide between rich and poor?
“How will we protect the people who are most vulnerable to the harms caused by artificial intelligence, including those who lose their livelihoods and the sense that they are in control of their future?”
He said that answering these questions and acting on the answers should be the world’s priority.
Mr Gates said that though AI could transform lives, propel innovation in medicine and lead to better treatment and the eradication of diseases, among other good things, the technology poses three main problems.
The first, he wrote, is that jobs will be lost on a large scale, while the second is about AI empowering people (and perhaps AIs) to do more harm.
“Long before AI entered the mainstream, there was information online about how to create weapons like bombs, bioweapons, even computer viruses,” he wrote.
“AI will make it much easier to not only get this information but act on it. Even criminals with very limited skills will be able to target victims at every scale: individuals, companies, and governments.”
Mr Gates’s essay comes weeks after Geoffrey Hinton, a former Google executive widely called the grandfather of AI, warned that humans will not be able to keep control of AI.
“What’s happening is these things are getting smarter,” Mr Hinton told CNN on August 5 during a press conference at an artificial intelligence convention.
Mr Gates acknowledged a potential bias in AI development, saying: “I have benefited enormously from the technology industry. Although I have diversified my portfolio quite a bit, I still have financial ties to it.”
He went on: “I am working with Microsoft and other AI companies in my role as chairman of the Gates Foundation to try and ensure AI is deployed in ways that will truly benefit people around the world.”
He said he would use his voice and time to get AI and equity higher on the public agenda and that he would engage with lawmakers in Washington, D.C., and leaders around the world about how technology should be used to benefit all.
Mr Gates urged leaders to act before AI-related problems get out of hand.
“You have a chance to act now, before unemployment rises sharply, communities are hurting, and public trust has eroded,” he wrote.