Bill Gates says Trump's AI views point to societal blind spot after President dismissed risks as 'hoax'

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Trump rejected the calls from the CEOs of OpenAI and Anthropic for a slowdown — which Gates told CBS reflects a societal blind spot.

He suggested that many people are unaware of how quickly large language models could transform the world.

Gates, who has engaged with the White House several times since Trump's re-election, said that the President's view shows he is "in the place that everybody else is in, where at first you're like, 'Isn't this just like the technologies of the past?'".

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Gates added: "If he wants to get credit for helping the entire world, the AI topic is his best bet. The leader that brings people together there will deserve positive recognition."

But while touting the positive impacts that AI could bring, Gates also warned it could be used to engage in bioterrorism, financial hacks and otherwise wreak havoc.

"Most of society is still not aware of how quickly it's moving," Gates said, adding that comparisons to prior technological leaps are unhelpful given AI's potential for surpassing human intelligence. "AI is almost an evolutionary event."

Despite dismissing the risks of the tech as a "hoax", Trump has announced a new AI Force.

Taking to his social media platform TruthSocial on Saturday, the US President said: "We will also be looking for BAD, and we can do that, very easily, with our already existing Criminal and Civil Justice System.

"For this purpose, I am forming the AI Force, much like I did Space Force, which has been a tremendous SUCCESS, in my First Term.

"To that end, I will be announcing, in the near future, the AI “Czar” — Only High I.Q. individuals need apply!"