Technology Cannot Resolve Political Polarization, ‘Can’t Blame AI’ for Jan. 6: Bill Gates

Bill Gates speaks onstage at the TIME100 Summit 2022 at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City, on June 7, 2022. Jemal Countess/Getty Images for TIME

Bill Gates has rejected the notion that technology would somehow help end “political polarization,” insisting that AI is not to be blamed for the Jan. 6 incident, and stated that AI-fuelled misinformation could become a problem in the future.

During an interview with German news media outlet Handelsblatt, the Microsoft co-founder was asked about the role AI played in triggering the “political polarization” which led to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach. “We can’t blame AI for that. That happened. It may have been magnified by digital channels that allow various conspiracy theories like QAnon or whatever to be blasted out by people who wanted to believe those things.”