---
title: "Bill Gates Compares Artificial Intelligence to Nuclear Weapons"
description: "Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates issued a grave warning Monday, comparing advanced artificial intelligence to nuclear weapons."
date: "2019-03-19"
modified: "2019-03-19"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/bill-gates-artificial-intelligence-nuclear-weapons"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
tags:
  - "education"
  - "medicine"
  - "nuclear weapons"
  - "super-intelligence"
---

# Bill Gates Compares Artificial Intelligence to Nuclear Weapons

![Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates issued a grave warning Monday, comparing advanced artificial intelligence to nuclear weapons.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/bill-gates-artificial-intelligence-nuclear-weapons.png>)
*\<em\>Image: DFID via Flickr\</em\>*

## Nuclear Option

Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates issued a grave warning Monday, comparing advanced artificial intelligence to nuclear weapons — and arguing that the United States is losing its edge in the global AI research race.

"The world hasn't had that many technologies that are both promising and dangerous," Gates said during an event at Stanford, [according to *CNET*](<https://www.cnet.com/news/bill-gates-says-ai-should-improve-education-and-medicine/>)*.* He added that "I won't say there are that many" examples of AI having improved society.

## Peril and Promise

At the same time, Gates expressed hope that the tech could be used to improve health and medicine around the world. But he also warned that the United States' grip on AI research is starting to slip compared to other countries.

"The US was in this totally unique position for most of these breakthrough technologies," he said. "Now the US is still very much the leader, but not \[in the\] same dominant, dominant way."

## AI Overlord

In the past, Gates has also expressed concern about how humanity might grapple with an AI super intelligence – as *CNET* pointed out.

"I am in the camp that is concerned about super intelligence," Gates [said in 2015](<https://www.cnet.com/news/bill-gates-is-worried-about-artificial-intelligence-too/>). "First, the machines will do a lot of jobs for us and not be super intelligent. That should be positive if we manage it well. A few decades after that, though, the intelligence is strong enough to be a concern."

**READ MORE:** [Bill Gates says AI should improve education and medicine](<https://www.cnet.com/news/bill-gates-says-ai-should-improve-education-and-medicine/>) \[*CNET*\]

**More on Bill Gates:** [*China Tariffs Blocked Bill Gates’ Plan for Safe Nuclear Power*](<https://futurism.com/trump-china-tariffs-bill-gates-nuclear-power>)

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)