Bill Gates Warns of AI-Fueled Cyberattacks and Bioterrorism Risks
The Microsoft co-founder highlights the immediate threat of malicious actors exploiting AI without safeguards and the long-term danger of AI-assisted weapon development.
Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, issued a stark warning Sunday that artificial intelligence (AI) could drive a surge in cyberattacks over the coming year, as malicious actors gain access to powerful AI models without sufficient safeguards.
"When you have bad people, no safeguards, and then the latest models, that’s where, over the next year, primarily in the cyber area, we are going to have a lot of negative surprises," Gates stated in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper. He expressed concern that criminals could leverage advanced AI technology to disrupt financial systems, extort businesses, and execute increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.
This warning comes as cybersecurity researchers report a significant rise in AI-enabled threats. CrowdStrike’s 2026 Global Threat Report indicated an 89% year-over-year increase in attacks by AI-enabled adversaries in 2025, with the time for cybercriminals to move laterally within compromised networks decreasing to an average of 29 minutes.
Beyond cyber threats, Gates reiterated concerns about AI's potential role in bioterrorism. He previously assessed that the risk of a bioterrorist attack could become 50 times greater than that of a natural pandemic. When questioned by Tapper about the timeline for such an event and governmental preparedness, Gates asserted that current efforts are insufficient.
"Well, no, we’re not doing enough," Gates said. "The real danger right now is not the AI is getting out of control. We need to work on that, but that’s years away in terms of the big impact that might have."
Gates described potential financial motivations behind AI-driven cyberattacks, including extortion schemes and deliberate disruptions aimed at manipulating financial markets or gambling outcomes. "The front that we’ll probably see most dramatically in the next year is cyberattacks, because there, there’s a known business model where, you know, you threaten to do something and ask somebody to pay for that, or you create a disruption that changes something in the stock market or some betting thing that you go and do," he explained.
Democratic strategist Oliver Libby commented on Gates' warnings, emphasizing the critical need for policymakers to balance AI advancement with effective regulation. "The great challenge both for innovators and governments in the coming months is to balance continued progress in AI with smart regulation. Leaders who can balance ensuring that America is not left behind, but that no American is left out, will win public trust," Libby told Fox News Digital. He called for a coordinated approach to address security risks and prepare society for AI's economic impact, advocating for federal and international standards, platform responsibility, penalties for cybercrimes and deepfakes, child safety measures, and ensuring broad participation in AI's economic benefits while anticipating workforce disruptions.