Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has raised concerns about how AI could be misused by bad actors to create dangerous bioweapons and how it could also threaten jobs. Gates shared these thoughts in his 2026 annual letter, where he also said he is still hopeful about the future because AI is speeding up major innovations.
“We are far better off than when I was born 70 years ago. I believe the world will keep improving, but it is harder to see that today than it has been in a long time,” Gates said.
Adding to it he mentioned that, “Of all the things humans have ever created, AI will change society the most. It will help solve many of our current problems while also bringing new challenges very different from past innovations.”
He said that although predictions about artificial general intelligence (AGI) keep getting delayed, AI progress will “not plateau before exceeding human levels”.
Gates identifies two major AI challenges
Gates then explained what he believes are the two most serious risks linked to AI.
“The two big challenges in the next decade are the use of AI by bad actors and disruption to the job market. Both are real risks that we need to do a better job managing. We will need to be deliberate about how this technology is developed, governed, and deployed,” he added.
Gates mentioned his 2015 TED talk, where he had warned that the world was not ready for a pandemic. He said that if his warning had been taken more seriously, human suffering could have been much lower. Now, he believes there is an even bigger threat: the chance that a non-government group could use open-source AI tools to create a bioterror weapon.
He also spoke about the second major concern – the impact on jobs. “The second challenge is job market disruption. AI capabilities will allow us to make far more goods and services with less labour. In a mathematical sense, we should be able to allocate these new capabilities in ways that benefit everyone. As AI delivers on its potential, we could reduce the work week or even decide there are some areas we do not want to use AI in.”
Gates pointed out that AI is already starting to affect job demand in areas like software development. He said that while jobs in warehouses or phone support are not affected yet, once AI becomes more advanced, the impact will come quickly.
“The rate of improvement is already starting to be enough to disrupt job demand in areas like software development. Other areas like warehouse work or phone support are not quite there yet, but once the AIs become more capable, the job disruption will be more immediate,” he added.
Gates on the positive side of AI
Gates also talked about the benefits of AI, especially in improving healthcare around the world.
“I believe we can improve healthcare dramatically in all countries by using AI not only to accelerate the development of innovations but also directly in the delivery of healthcare,” he noted.
He added that the technology still needs more work. “We are not quite there yet. Developers still have work to do on reliability and on how we connect the AI to doctors and nurses so they are empowered to check and override the system. But I am optimistic that we will soon begin to scale access globally,” he added.