American billionaire David Sacks has criticised Bill Gates over his warning that artificial intelligence could become powerful enough to cause events resulting in a billion deaths. David Sacks, a venture capitalist and former White House AI czar, reposted clips on X (formerly Twitter) challenging Bill Gates’ comments and questioning how the US could prevent Chinese AI models from developing similar capabilities. One clip attributed to Sacks says, “There are no facts or evidence to justify these types of numbers.” In another reposted clip, Sacks raised the issue of AI development in China. “The question I have for Bill [Gates] is, how are you going to stop Chinese models from developing these capabilities?” he said.Speaking during an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, Bill Gates said that AI is “certainly powerful enough to drive events that cause a billion deaths.” Gates also called for mandatory federal legislation to address AI risks. He argued that the technology should not be governed only through voluntary industry rules and urged Congress to take action, although he did not identify a specific bill.
What David Sacks said about Gates’ AI warning
David Sacks responded by reposting clips of Gates’ remarks on X. In one clip, he questioned the basis for putting such a large number on the potential death toll. “There are no facts or evidence to justify these types of numbers,” the clip attributed to Sacks says.Sacks’ comments come as the US and China compete to develop increasingly advanced AI systems.
Bill Gates says AI can already help bioterrorists and hackers
Recently, Bill Gates was asked why product liability and reputational damage aren’t enough to stop firms from releasing dangerous AI. During his appearance at the Ezra Klein Show, Gates answered with a question of his own. “So say you kill 100 million people, you want to use a lawsuit?” adding “I almost can’t keep a straight face.”Host Ezra Klein put to Gates a view voiced by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang: if a product is unsafe, the CEO simply shouldn’t launch it, and no new laws are needed. Klein added that Trump and David Sacks, who has advised the President on AI, hold a similar position.Gates disagreed. He said AI can already help a bioterrorist kill hundreds of millions of people, or carry out a cyberattack that scrambles bank accounts and shuts down a power grid. “We crossed the cyber threshold and we crossed the bio threshold early this year,” he said.