Bill Gates has warned that AI-powered cyberattacks will become one of the most serious near-term risks from artificial intelligence, putting the danger of malicious misuse ahead of longer-term concerns about AI systems spiralling out of control.
In an interview with ABC News on Sunday, Gates said cybersecurity was the area most likely to be affected by AI over the next year. He pointed specifically to the removal of built-in safety controls from advanced AI models as the core problem, arguing that bad actors gaining unrestricted access to the latest systems could produce a wave of damaging incidents.
Gates drew a clear distinction between the sci-fi scenario of AI becoming autonomous and dangerous, which he described as a longer-term concern, and the more pressing threat of existing tools being deliberately misused.
