Tech billionaire Bill Gates is opening up about the great risks that face society today.
The founder of software giant Microsoft mentioned that if he was young again, the atom bomb or nuclear war would be the least of his fears. This was during his recent sit-down interview with Patrick Collison.
Gates explained how he can list five very scary issues in today’s era but when he was growing up, the only fear was that a nuclear war might erupt. Today, he’d like to address other major issues like climate change, the pandemic, control of AI, and bioterrorism/pandemic. So there’s a lot more things to be concerned about now than ever before, he added.
Image: Computer History Museum / YT
Interestingly, this is not the first time that we’ve witnessed him speak about this matter in detail. He’s listed down his fears similarly in the past as well. In 2023, he published a blog post about his family growing up and his being worried about how to make the world a better place.
After having grandkids, he shared more about how he had concerns about health, climate, politics, and so much more than he didn’t worry about before. Today, he fears that the world is suffering from a lack of intelligence but AI might be presenting more of a solution than an issue. If used productively, he does not fear the risks that others have.
He similarly shared that he might not have many experts in the era of medicine but people can be at the top of everything or they can do related math tutoring in the inner city. As he shared, there’s a lack of intelligence and that’s where he feels AI might step in to make the change that the world needs.
Despite the major hurdles, Gates hopes that future generations will be better off when they address all the risks. He does predict a lot more solutions for health concerns like obesity, HIV, measles, malaria, and Alzheimer's because the rate at which innovation is taking place is major.
While fears right now might seem paralytic, he thinks it’s necessary as a galvanizing force for the youth. They’re likely to exaggerate the probability and impact of certain things to activate more individuals to stay away from dangers, he concluded.
Read next:
The founder of software giant Microsoft mentioned that if he was young again, the atom bomb or nuclear war would be the least of his fears. This was during his recent sit-down interview with Patrick Collison.
Gates explained how he can list five very scary issues in today’s era but when he was growing up, the only fear was that a nuclear war might erupt. Today, he’d like to address other major issues like climate change, the pandemic, control of AI, and bioterrorism/pandemic. So there’s a lot more things to be concerned about now than ever before, he added.
Interestingly, this is not the first time that we’ve witnessed him speak about this matter in detail. He’s listed down his fears similarly in the past as well. In 2023, he published a blog post about his family growing up and his being worried about how to make the world a better place.
After having grandkids, he shared more about how he had concerns about health, climate, politics, and so much more than he didn’t worry about before. Today, he fears that the world is suffering from a lack of intelligence but AI might be presenting more of a solution than an issue. If used productively, he does not fear the risks that others have.
He similarly shared that he might not have many experts in the era of medicine but people can be at the top of everything or they can do related math tutoring in the inner city. As he shared, there’s a lack of intelligence and that’s where he feels AI might step in to make the change that the world needs.
Despite the major hurdles, Gates hopes that future generations will be better off when they address all the risks. He does predict a lot more solutions for health concerns like obesity, HIV, measles, malaria, and Alzheimer's because the rate at which innovation is taking place is major.
While fears right now might seem paralytic, he thinks it’s necessary as a galvanizing force for the youth. They’re likely to exaggerate the probability and impact of certain things to activate more individuals to stay away from dangers, he concluded.
Read next:
