Bill Gates: Stopping AI Development Is Not The Best Solution

Microsoft founder Bill Gates does not agree with the termination of AI development. (photo: Twitter @billgates)

The call to stop the development of artificial intelligence (AI) will not "settle the challenges" ahead. This was said by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, to Reuters, in his first public comments since an open letter emerged that sparked debate about the future of the technology.

The tech expert who turned into a philanthropist said it would be better to focus on the best way to use AI developments, as it is difficult to understand how the break can work globally.

His interview with Reuters came after an open letter - published last week and signed jointly by Elon Musk and more than 1,000 AI experts - demanding an urgent termination in the development of a "stronger" system from the OpenAI GPT-4, which Microsoft supports, which can have conversations like humans, compose songs, and summarize long documents.

Experts, including Apple founder Steve Wozniak, said in the letter that potential risks and benefits to society need to be evaluated.

"I don't think asking a special group for a break will solve the challenge," Gates said on Monday, April 3. "Of course there's a big benefit from these things... all we need to do is identify complicated areas."

Microsoft has tried to surpass competitors through a multi-billion dollar investment in ChatGPT owner OpenAI.

Currently, Gates is fully focused on the Bill Foundation and Melinda Gates, but he is a strong AI supporter and describes it as a revolutionary like the Internet or cell phone.

In a blog entitled "Era AI has begun" published and on March 21, the day before the open letter, he said he believed AI should be used to help reduce some of the world's worst inequality. He also said in his interview that details of each pause would be difficult to implement.

"I don't really understand who they say can stop, and whether every country in the world will agree to quit, and why stop," he said. "But there are a lot of different opinions in this area."