Bill Gates sounds alarm on ‘bad people’ using AI: ‘GRIM POSSIBILITIES’
· Toronto Sun
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In recent weeks, Bill Gates has been issuing warnings surrounding artificial intelligence, noting that not only is the world unprepared for a “turbulent” era but that AI could also cause a billion deaths if left unchecked or falls into the wrong hands.
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The Microsoft co-founder is piling on, saying there are currently no adequate safeguards to prevent powerful AI models from being used by “bad people.”
The billionaire warned that if criminals got their hand on the latest AI technology, they could exploit it by disrupting financial systems, extorting businesses and, what he expects to come first, the carrying out of sophisticated cyberattacks.
‘A lot of negative surprises’
“The front that we’ll probably see most dramatically in the next year is cyberattacks,” Gates told Jake Tapper during CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.
“The real danger right now is not the AI’s getting out of control. We need to work on that, but that’s years away in terms of the big impact that might have,” he explained.
“It’s really bad people using AI, particularly in AI, where you can take out all the safeguards,” Gates continued ominously.
“Right now, you’re allowed to take all those safeguards out. So when you have bad people, no safeguards, and then the latest models, that’s where, over the next year, primarily in the cyber area, we are going to have a lot of negative surprises.”
Bill Gates warns of AI-triggered cyberattacks: "When you have bad people, no safeguards, and then the latest models, that's where over the next year, primarily in the cyber area, we are going to have a lot of negative surprises." pic.twitter.com/vyFMUOlrU2
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) October 11, 2026
‘Very concerning’
Gates noted that when responsible AI leaders like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic co-founder Dario Amodei are warning of “potential negative scenarios,” then it’s “very concerning.”
He didn’t mince words, telling Tapper that self-governance is not enough and society needs to step in before things become too far gone.
“The idea that for the most dangerous technology humans ever invented, that that’s the final word, that just the companies themselves are the only check that society has, particularly when this idea of what safeguards do you need, it’s clear we’re not doing enough.”
Gates added: “There are some grim possibilities if we don’t maintain control. And I do think the industry is doing its job to raise the alarm bell, but this idea that, if we’re judicious, we can minimize these risks, maybe that’s not coming across, particularly because the government sometimes goes to the extreme of, ‘let’s not have any safeguards or let’s completely stop this.’”
Bring on the regulations
Just like planes have the Federal Aviation Administration and medicine has the Food and Drug Administration, AI must also have its own regulatory model and organization, he noted.
Just as we regulate planes, cars, and medicines, we need safeguards that help us realize AI's incredible potential while reducing the risks. They won’t eliminate every harm, but they can help prevent misuse by bad actors. We’re not where we need to be yet—and this deserves much… https://t.co/SubCPPgSCp
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) October 11, 2026
“I do think, over the next year, the idea that government has to get more sophisticated, and we will have safety groups, like we do for those other domains, I think that will become quite obvious to people,” the philanthropist continued. “I will certainly be a strong voice for that.”
Gates’ latest warning comes after Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella urged tech companies to treat all AI models as if they are already “compromised” and potentially dangerous, and suggested that AI researchers have safeguards built into the technology from the beginning of their development.
“We must build contained systems whose behavior we can observe, limits we can test, and actions we can always contain,” he wrote on X over the weekend.
“Any sufficiently capable actor with access to important systems can make mistakes or be compromised, and the architecture of containment and control must account for that.”