Bill Gates calls for global cooperation to address AI risks

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has warned that no government in the world is fully prepared for the wide-ranging impact of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

In an interview, Gates said governments had not adequately prepared for the changes AI could bring to society. He highlighted several potential risks, including job losses, cyberattacks and addiction to AI-powered companions.

Gates said he had been more optimistic about AI in the past but had since changed his position in light of the technology’s potential risks.

Despite these concerns, Gates and the Gates Foundation expect AI to help narrow the gap between rich and poor.

The foundation has announced plans to spend $1 billion on education, healthcare and agriculture, including the development of AI models capable of working across different languages.

Gates said the potential applications of AI in healthcare were difficult to ignore, particularly because the technology could accelerate the discovery of new medicines and vaccines.

He also called for governments around the world to work together to address the challenges posed by AI. Comparing the technology to a disaster movie, Gates said countries would need to form alliances to deal with the potential risks.

“You can think of AI as an alien intelligence that is now here,” he said.

In a blog post published in late August 2026, Gates had also called for certain fields to be reserved for human workers to prevent AI from replacing them. He predicted that advances in AI and robotics would lead to the loss of numerous jobs.

Gates suggested that some areas could be designated for human workers, similar to the way certain natural areas are protected from development.

He specifically pointed to healthcare, saying that human involvement would remain essential.

He asked readers to imagine a robot delivering news about an incurable illness — a situation in which, he argued, human involvement should remain important.