American billionaire Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, warned that artificial intelligence could eventually be responsible for "a billion deaths."
In response to a question in an interview with NBC, aired on Friday, about whether he believed AI was powerful enough to wipe out humanity entirely, the tech mogul said, "AI is definitely powerful enough to drive events that can, you know, result in a billion deaths."
Gates added, "History has never seen a weapon that has the power to combine people with ill intentions and their use of the latest AI tools."
When asked whether he thought legislation was necessary to regulate AI, Gates said, "No one believes that self-regulation is sufficient."
He added, "You need law enforcement and politicians to look at how to establish mechanisms for protection and oversight."
Gates's warnings come at a time when CEOs of major AI companies urged the United Nations last Wednesday to put controls on this emerging technology they are developing, with the aim of saving the world or at least its inhabitants.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had warned last Tuesday about "killer robots"; European experts and leaders confirmed that this warning is not an exaggeration but a reality that already exists or is very imminent and poses serious risks.