Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, told NBC News' Meet the Press that artificial intelligence should not be left to industry self-regulation. Gates argued that lawmakers and law enforcement must join discussions about safety guarantees and oversight mechanisms, and that any regulation should be mandatory.
He acknowledged that such rules would impose additional burdens on the industry but said they would not drastically slow development. Gates also warned explicitly about risks: he said current AI tools are already advanced enough that, in the hands of malicious actors, they could cause catastrophic events leading to as many as a billion fatalities. He described the combination of bad actors and the latest AI capabilities as an unprecedentedly dangerous weapon.
Industry leaders have also urged a slowdown
Earlier this month, Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, publicly argued for slowing the pace of advanced AI system development. Their statements followed public criticism from Jacob Coxon, a whistleblower who left Anthropic and warned that some labs are racing toward self-improving superintelligence and risking human lives.
Dario Amodei emphasized that effective regulation requires federal-level and global cooperation, and that China should be included in such international efforts.
Federal policymakers have not acted yet
Washington has not shown comparable urgency. Mike Johnson, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, refused calls to convene an extraordinary session of lawmakers to address AI regulation, saying AI companies had not presented specific proposals requiring federal legislation. Johnson argued against hasty action, suggesting it could harm national security.
States are moving ahead: California, Maryland, New York
While federal action lags, several states have started to implement oversight. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom established an expert panel by executive order to strengthen AI safety statutes. In Maryland, Governor Wes Moore introduced a three-tier regulatory framework for AI. In New York, Governor Kathy Hochul created a new office to supervise AI companies' legal compliance.
No industry consensus
Industry voices differ on the appropriate approach. Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, criticized the competitive race among companies at the United Nations and argued that safety should take precedence over market competition, drawing an analogy to aviation regulation. By contrast, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, rejected industry-wide coordination, saying each lab should be responsible for addressing its own problems.
Why this matters
The debate centers on balancing innovation with preventing misuse that could cause severe societal or public-health harm. Public calls from Gates and several industry leaders have increased pressure on regulators, but political and state-level responses indicate that, so far, solutions are emerging primarily at regional rather than national or global levels.
(This article was prepared with assistance from an AI tool; the final content was edited and verified by our journalist.)
