# The Imminent AI Risk Is the Most Powerful Tools Ever by Bill Gates > “The imminent risk is [that artificial-intelligence systems are] the most powerful tools ever [and can be used by bad actors].” > **— 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:** “The imminent risk is these are the most powerful tools ever.” - **Editorial treatment:** The first bracket replaces the context-bound “these” with the systems Gates was discussing; the final bracket restores the immediate human-misuse threat he contrasted with longer-horizon autonomous-control scenarios. Square brackets identify editorial language; the exact unmodified wording remains above in this source record. - **Context:** Gates distinguishes the near-term danger of rogue actors using frontier AI for catastrophic cyber or biological harm from longer-horizon scenarios in which AI itself escapes human control. ## 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/Dual-Use AI Governance|Dual-Use AI Governance]] - [[wiki/AI Capability Diffusion|AI Capability Diffusion]] - [[wiki/Threat Actor|Threat Actor]] - [[wiki/Terrorism|Terrorism]] - [[wiki/Biosecurity|Biosecurity]] - [[wiki/Cyber Operations|Cyber Operations]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “The imminent risk is [that artificial-intelligence systems are] the most powerful tools ever [and can be used by bad actors].” — Bill Gates, The Ezra Klein Show, September 29, 2026 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-bill-gates-the-imminent-ai-risk-is-the-most-powerful-tools-ever ```