# AI Passed Nation-State Power to Small Groups by Bill Gates > “It used to be only nation states [that] had enough resources and capability to [conduct infrastructure-scale cyberattacks or design catastrophic biological threats]. Now, that power has been passed into the hands of a small group just using the latest AI tools.” > **— Bill Gates**, *The Ezra Klein Show, September 29, 2026* ## Sources and Context - **Published source:** [The Ezra Klein Show, September 29, 2026](https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/08/bill-gates-dangers-ai/688418/) — direct or near-primary publication carrying the attributed statement. - **Article placement:** [[articles/The Immediate AI Risk Is the Public|The Immediate AI Risk Is the Public]] quotes this statement in its analysis of AI danger, public competence, strategic acceleration and machine succession. - **Exact original excerpt:** “It used to be only nation states had enough resources and capability to do these things. Now, that power has been passed into the hands of a small group just using the latest AI tools.” - **Editorial treatment:** The brackets repair the grammar and identify the cyber and biological capabilities hidden inside “these things.” Square brackets identify editorial language; the exact unmodified wording remains above in this source record. - **Context:** Gates defines the security discontinuity as infrastructure-scale cyberattack and catastrophic biological-design capability moving from resource-rich nation-states to small groups, including rogue actors and terrorists using advanced AI tools. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Immediate AI Risk Is the Public|The Immediate AI Risk Is the Public]] - **Companion article:** [[articles/Vertically Integrating an AI Superpower from AI Factory to Citizen|Vertically Integrating an AI Superpower from AI Factory to Citizen]] - **Companion article:** [[articles/Safety Discourse Is Transition Discourse|Safety Discourse Is Transition Discourse]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/AI Transition Governance|AI Transition Governance]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Bill Gates|Bill Gates]] - [[wiki/AI Capability Diffusion|AI Capability Diffusion]] - [[wiki/Biosecurity|Biosecurity]] - [[wiki/Cyber Operations|Cyber Operations]] - [[wiki/Threat Actor|Threat Actor]] - [[wiki/Terrorism|Terrorism]] - [[wiki/Proliferation|Proliferation]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “It used to be only nation states [that] had enough resources and capability to [conduct infrastructure-scale cyberattacks or design catastrophic biological threats]. Now, that power has been passed into the hands of a small group just using the latest AI tools.” — Bill Gates, The Ezra Klein Show, September 29, 2026 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-bill-gates-ai-passed-nation-state-power-to-small-groups ```