The Gates Foundation plans to invest at least $1 billion over the next two years to expand access to artificial intelligence (AI), as co-founder Bill Gates warns that the rapid adoption of AI could widen the economic gap between rich and poor nations.
Gates said AI has the potential to make essential knowledge, opportunities and solutions more widely available if the technology is developed and deployed responsibly.
“AI, if shaped well, could expand who has access to solutions, opportunities, and knowledge that has too often been out of reach,” Gates wrote in a report. “The decisions made in the next 12 to 18 months — about how AI is built, funded, and deployed — will determine whether this technology primarily benefits the people who already have the most or reaches those who have the least.”
AI funding to focus on healthcare, education and agriculture
The planned funding will support the development of AI-based tools for people working in sectors including education, healthcare and agriculture.
The foundation also intends to support efforts to bring non-English language sources into large datasets used by AI developers. The move is aimed at making AI systems more useful and accessible to people who do not primarily communicate in English.
Gates has increasingly focused on ensuring that the benefits of technological advances are distributed more broadly, particularly in developing economies where access to advanced digital tools remains limited.
Gates warns about AI risks
The Microsoft co-founder has also stepped up his warnings about the potential risks associated with artificial intelligence.
In an essay published in August, Gates called on technology companies and regulators to take the risks posed by AI to humanity more seriously.
His concerns have been echoed in recent days by other prominent technology figures, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic co-founder Dario Amodei, as debate intensifies over the social and economic consequences of increasingly powerful AI systems.
“AI could be a great equalizer — or widen the gap,” Gates wrote. “This is not a long-range prediction. It’s a present-tense choice.”
AI could increase emissions
The expansion of AI infrastructure is also expected to increase greenhouse gas emissions because of the huge amounts of electricity required to operate data centres and AI systems.
The billionaire argued last year that an overly pessimistic narrative about climate change could divert attention from other urgent global challenges, including inadequate access to basic healthcare.
Gates Foundation plans $200 billion in total giving
The latest AI commitment comes as the Gates Foundation prepares for an unprecedented expansion of its philanthropic spending.
Gates has said his charity plans to distribute about $200 billion before it shuts down entirely in 2045.
The planned giving represents around 99 per cent of his remaining fortune and will effectively double the foundation's spending.