January 2026

Gates warns AI could be used to design a bioterrorism weapon

In his January 2026 'Year Ahead' annual letter and subsequent remarks, Bill Gates warned that an even greater risk than a natural pandemic is that 'a non-government group will use open source AI tools to design a bioterrorism weapon.' Gates identified two AI dangers he said society must manage — misuse by bad actors and disruption to jobs — and drew a comparison to COVID-19, invoking his 2015 TED talk about pandemic unpreparedness. He argued the technology must be deliberately developed, governed, and deployed, and urged governments to use 2026 to prepare before AI's risks become unmanageable.