A major new funding push is being planned to make artificial intelligence more accessible worldwide and use it to address social inequalities. The Gates Foundation, established by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, has announced a $1 billion donation over the next 2 years to expand access to AI and support solutions to systemic social challenges.
The pledge was announced in the foundation’s annual Goalkeepers report. It comes as Bill Gates, the foundation’s chairman and Microsoft co-founder, warns about the potential impact of unchecked AI on human life and employment.
The funding will support external organisations working across healthcare, education and agriculture. Grants will back projects using automated tools in clinical healthcare, classrooms and farming. The foundation will also support localised data repositories covering a wider range of global languages and dialects.
The report noted that early frontier AI models were trained mainly on English-language data. This could leave underserved communities with limited access to the data systems supporting modern AI technologies.
The foundation warned that without deliberate action, advanced software could increasingly be designed for companies with the greatest financial resources, while communities that could benefit most may be left behind. It said there is only a limited opportunity to influence who benefits from the AI transformation.
Gates has also raised concerns about the economic effects of rapid automation. In a blog post last month, he said the technological shift could become one of the most chaotic periods in human history. He added that AI could either become humanity’s greatest equaliser or its most destructive source of injustice.
Gates warned that rapid adoption of intelligent software across industries could lead to widespread job displacement. With several sectors automating at the same time, workers losing their jobs could face limited opportunities in other industries.
He also criticised technology developers for downplaying potential risks. According to Gates, technology companies have financial incentives to remain quiet as they compete to develop and sell software capable of replacing human workers.
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