At the Gates Foundation's Goalkeepers event in New York on September 21, foundation chair Bill Gates shared his candid thoughts: "Of course, I wish I could just talk about foreign aid and reducing child mortality."

However, Gates noted that the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence has forced him to address another topic when meeting with world leaders: whether society is truly prepared for the risks this technology brings.

He revealed that roughly a year ago, the progress in AI stunned him, because the technology could now handle programming tasks that took him years to master in his youth. Gates explained that AI can write code, analyze code, spot vulnerabilities, and even infiltrate various systems.

What worries him is not just the capability of the technology itself. "Given this exponential progress, society has not yet engaged in sufficiently broad participation and discussion," he said. While the tech industry has been debating these risks internally, the wider public has not been fully brought into the conversation.

Gates described the current transformation as "the plot of ten science fiction novels unfolding at once." Traditional sci-fi usually centers on a single major technological breakthrough, but AI could simultaneously drive rapid changes across multiple fields.

In Gates' view, the first step in tackling AI challenges is to bring more people into the fold—both as users of the technology and as informed citizens aware of its hidden dangers. "The future path of humanity will depend on how we treat this technology."

He even compared the rise of AI to "aliens landing." "AI is different from all past technologies. If you simply view it as a continuation of what came before, it's easy to be complacent. It's extremely unique, like aliens showing up—except these 'aliens' are creations of our own making. They don't arrive on spaceships; we place them inside our computers."

Gates emphasized the need to fully acknowledge AI's dual nature. On one hand, it can drive innovation in agriculture and public health; on the other, it carries risks.

During his speech, Gates also expressed regret over seeing some wealthy nations cut aid to low-income countries. "Economies keep growing, corporate profits hit new records, yet governments in many affluent nations are becoming increasingly stingy." He clarified that he is not calling on one part of the world to rescue another, but rather advocating for generous investment to foster shared progress and support communities that are striving to save lives even with scarce resources.

He urged a restoration of funding to guarantee the most basic survival needs, concluding, "If we can combine more philanthropic investment with the responsible use of AI, we can accelerate progress toward global equity."