Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates has invested billions in technologies aimed at shaping the future, from combating climate change to eradicating diseases. His efforts and insights are now the focus of a new Netflix series titled “What’s Next? The Future with Bill Gates”, set to launch on September 18.
The series will explore various pressing issues, including artificial intelligence (AI), climate change, global health, inequality, and misinformation.
In an interview with The Verge, Gates discussed his optimism about the future technologies highlighted in the series. He also reflected on his time leading Microsoft and the company’s partnership with OpenAI, stating that AI will play a crucial role in improving productivity across sectors such as health and education.
Gates emphasized the need to shape AI for positive use while addressing concerns about disinformation and AI’s environmental impact.
“Well, the near-term issues are more using it in a positive way, in areas like health and education. Even in the United States, we have shortages. The idea of the personal tutor, which I’ve been out in Newark to see Khanmigo [Khan Academy’s AI tool], which is based on ChatGPT.” Gates said.
“Seeing how great that is to help the teachers do their jobs, help the students who are behind or ahead stay engaged. So, for the next decade, we’ll be experiencing increased productivity in a lot of areas, which is overwhelmingly very good news.”
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As it gets more powerful, and you know, as bad guys are using it, there’ll be issues. But overall, I believe that it’s a beneficial thing, and we need to just shape it in the right way.
Gates acknowledged the importance of clean energy, including nuclear power, in the fight against climate change. He defended the role of technologies like carbon capture and nuclear energy while recognizing the environmental and justice concerns they raise. Despite missing climate goals, Gates remains optimistic about humanity’s ability to innovate and adapt to the challenges ahead.
“I think AI, on balance, is super beneficial to work on climate. People can type misinformation into a word processor. They don’t need AI, you know, to type out crazy things. And so I’m not sure that, other than creating deepfakes, AI really changes the balance there. In fact, I’d say that as people talk about reducing misinformation, the role of AI can be a positive role in terms of looking at what’s going on in a superefficient way.” He said
Reflecting on his tenure at Microsoft, Gates expressed pride in the company’s continued success under his successors and shared his insights on the current focus on antitrust issues in the tech industry.
