Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has cautioned that artificial intelligence, despite its transformative potential, could bring significant disruption to jobs and energy systems if not managed carefully. In an exclusive interview with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin on Squawk Box, Gates said AI’s economic impact would be “profound,” but the world must focus on balancing technological progress with overall human welfare.
AI’s rapid rise and its economic weight
Gates described AI as a defining technology of his lifetime, comparing its scale to the invention of the Internet. “The AI is the biggest technical thing ever in my lifetime,” he told CNBC. “It is so profound and therefore its influence is hard to overstate and the economic value… extremely high, just like creating the Internet ended up being very, very valuable.”
However, he acknowledged the risks of overheated investment and unsustainable spending. “If what we mean by bubble is like tulips in the Netherlands… no, that’s not where we are,” Gates said. “If you mean it’s like the Internet bubble, where in the end something very profound happened… absolutely. There are a ton of these investments that will be dead ends.”
Jobs and power: AI’s growing challenges
Gates said AI adoption could have consequences for both energy infrastructure and employment. “We need to put things like TerraPower nuclear reactors in places where it’s very clear that you’re not raising the residents’ electricity bills,” he said. He warned against deploying data centers without public consent or affordability safeguards.
On the labour front, Gates acknowledged that automation and AI systems will affect employment over time. “Although it hasn’t been seen in large numbers over the next several years, there will be some impact on the job market,” he said. “It’s only honest for people to speak frankly about the fact this will have a big effect.”
Balancing technology and human welfare
Beyond AI, Gates urged governments and corporations to frame progress around human well-being. “Climate is a super important problem,” he said. “There’s enough innovation here to avoid super bad outcomes… but we have to frame it in terms of overall human welfare, not just everything should be solely for climate.”
Gates concluded that innovation must serve people first: “Wasn’t the goal here to improve human lives?” he asked. “We have to measure it all in terms of human welfare.”