Bill Gates makes bold predictions on the future of humanity and AI

29 Sep 2026, 18:03 · The Fresno Bee

Bill Gates has developed a bold vision of where artificial intelligence will take the world, and he believes it will unfold in two phases.

The Microsoft (MSFT) co-founder, who appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Sept. 27, said that AI will reshape almost every part of daily life, but that society will have to get through a rough 20-year adjustment period first.

Bill Gates helped build the industry that is now driving AI technology. He co-founded Microsoft with Paul Allen in 1975, and the company makes money by selling Windows and Office software, running the Xbox gaming business, and renting out cloud computing power through its Azure service.

Azure powers many of the world’s most popular AI tools, and Microsoft is also the biggest corporate backer of OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT.

Why the first AI phase will be rough for years

Gates told “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker that the world has just entered the early part of the AI era, when the technology’s biggest benefits are still out of reach. He believes AI has the power to lower healthcare costs and reduce the high cost of living, but those wins will take years to arrive.

“Yet it will be changing the job market and potentially empowering criminals if we don’t have the right safeguards, so you have a period that’s probably 20 years long where you have this adjustment,” Gates said, according to Business Insider.

For investors, that timeline matters because it provides an outlook to when the real payoff might happen. The companies making money from AI right now, including Nvidia (NVDA) and Microsoft, are still selling the tools other firms need to build their AI systems.

The bigger economic wins Gates is describing could take a full generation to show up.

RICCARDO MILANI / Getty Images

The billion-death warning behind Gates’ push for AI rules

Gates warned that AI is “certainly powerful enough to drive events that, you know, cause a billion deaths” if the wrong people get their hands on the strongest models, Axios reported.

His main worry is about individuals who could turn AI into a weapon. “Even though it’s pretty hard to get to 100%, there’s never been a weapon as powerful as the combination of people with ill intent using the latest AI tools,” Gates told Welker.

That fear explains why Gates keeps pushing for stronger rules.

In a Gates Notes post titled “A turbulent AI era and critical choices to make,” he asked law enforcement and lawmakers to build safety guardrails now.

Tighter rules on data use and model safety could reshape which AI companies win over the next decade, so investors should watch this space closely.

The AI payoff phase and the stocks that could ride it

For the second phase, Gates believes that once advanced AI models are paired with humanoid robots, the cost of everyday goods will drop sharply.

“Once you get through that, then a combination of humanoid robots and AIs will provide. Building houses, growing food, a lot of things,” Gates said. “You could call it an era of abundance.”

That view lines up with where investors are already putting money. Tesla (TSLA) has linked part of its long-term outlook to its Optimus humanoid robot, and startups like Figure AI are racing to bring similar products to the market.

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Chris Lin, who manages the $35 billion Fidelity OTC fund, made a similar long-term point earlier this year.

“Nobody knows how long it will take to play out, but I believe most investors are underestimating how impactful AI will ultimately be,” Lin said. He named Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) as his biggest AI holdings.

How investors can plan for the 20-year AI shift

Gates’ two-phase opinion is a useful reminder that AI investing means playing more than one trade at a time. The near-term winners are the companies selling chips, cloud capacity, and business software. The longer-term winners could be very different, with robotics and biotech AI likely to gain the most once the technology reaches homes and workplaces.

The risks Gates highlighted should also help you build your portfolio. Making big bets on a single AI company can be risky if regulation tightens or the company’s model falls behind a competitor. One way to stay in the trade without depending too much on one company is to spread your money across chipmakers, cloud providers, and cybersecurity businesses.

“That’s for the younger generation to figure out what that looks like,” Gates said when closing his “Meet the Press” appearance with Welker. “My focus is [whether we can] get through this period of turmoil without too much damage.”

For investors, that statement means patience is necessary. The AI shift is happening in stages, and the biggest returns may go to people who stay in the market long enough for the second stage.

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This story was originally published September 29, 2026 at 11:03 AM.