Opinion: Bill Gates Warns AI Could Cause a Billion Deaths, Prompting Questions About His Judgment

Summary

In an opinion column, Arwa Mahdawi examines Bill Gates’s warning in an NBC interview that unchecked artificial intelligence could cause “a billion deaths.” She argues that the prediction should be considered alongside the author’s concern that AI is already being used in violence, including what she describes as the AI-enabled destruction of Gaza, and asks what Gates thinks about Microsoft’s role. Mahdawi then questions whether Gates’s judgment should be trusted, noting that he met Jeffrey Epstein repeatedly after Epstein had pleaded guilty in 2008 to charges including soliciting prostitution from a minor. Gates has said he knew Epstein had faced legal problems but did not understand their extent, and that he believed Epstein could help attract wealthy donors for global health. The article stresses that Gates has not been accused of involvement in Epstein’s crimes, but interprets his continued meetings and explanations as evidence of poor judgment. It concludes that uncertainty about his judgment in the Epstein matter weakens the authority of his predictions about humanity’s future.