#NEWS: Microsoft co-founder #BillGates warned that artificial intelligence could become powerful enough to potentially wipe out a significant portion of humanity, adding to growing concerns among tech leaders about AI’s existential risks. “AI is certainly powerful enough to drive events that, you know, cause a billion deaths,” Gates said in an excerpt of an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, set to air this weekend. “There’s never been a weapon as powerful as the combination of people with ill intent using the latest AI tools.”