Gates Pushes China, US for AI Bioweapon Safeguards

Bill Gates is pressing for new international rules to limit AI systems that could help create biological weapons or trigger large-scale cyberattacks. The stakes involve whether governments can coordinate before such tools become widely available, a concern that has grown as models from multiple companies demonstrate the ability to breach real websites in controlled tests.

Gates told Reuters he plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year, likely in November, to propose joint limits on releasing the most hazardous AI models. He argued that if the United States leads, other nations including China would follow. Gates also wants countries to monitor AI tools for their capacity to synthesize dangerous molecules, a step he said would not slow overall progress in the sector. He met Xi three years earlier, becoming the first foreign entrepreneur hosted by the Chinese leader after the pandemic.

In a separate blog post, Gates called for a new global regulatory body modeled on nuclear inspection regimes, aviation standards, and ozone treaties. He said existing institutions cannot handle AI’s cross-cutting effects on security, labor, and health. Gates proposed taxing companies that use AI to replace workers and reserving up to 40 percent of jobs for humans, citing the irreplaceable human care his father received during Alzheimer’s treatment.

Gates has shifted from earlier optimism about AI toward greater emphasis on risks including job displacement and psychological dependence. He plans to meet UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham this autumn and to discuss AI applications in health with executives at Anthropic and OpenAI. His foundation intends to spend $200 billion through 2045 on preventable deaths, infectious disease, and poverty reduction, according to its May 2025 announcement.

The Verge reported that Gates had published a nearly 6,000-word essay titled “The turbulent AI era is here. The choices we make now are critical,” but no such document appears in public records or Gates’ verified publications. Claims of a sharp reversal from prior statements could not be independently verified against other reporting.