false information Bill Gates won’t solve a problem.
“The misinformation is where I had to push back — a little bit — and say, ‘OK, we’ve handed this problem over to the younger generation,'” Gates, 68, said during an interview. CNBC published on Thursday.
Misinformation has become a concern almost since the advent of the Internet. Then there was the global reckoning around the issue 2016 US Election. But with the development of technology, the problem has become more acute. It’s harder than ever to spot false claims on social media, thanks in part to that artificial intelligence.
A 2023 Pew Research Center The survey found that 65% of American adults believe that tech companies should do more to restrict misinformation and violent content online.
But Gates, one of the most influential tech entrepreneurs of all time, said he didn’t have an answer.
“We should have free speech,” he told CNBC. “But if you’re inciting violence, if you’re giving people reasons not to get vaccinated, where are those boundaries?”
He added: “The US should also have rules, and then if you have rules, what are they? Is there an AI that encodes those rules? You have billions of activity, and if you catch it after a day, the damage is done.”
Gates’ experience with misinformation is personal. He was the subject of many pioneers Conspiracy theories Regarding vaccines and other intervention measures during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A conspiracy theory that gained attention during the pandemic claimed that Gates puts microchips in vaccines To track people.
Gates told CNET that a woman once confronted him on the street about that conspiracy theory.
“I don’t really need to track you down specifically,” he said he told the woman.
His youngest daughter, Phoebe, who spoke out against him, is also affected “False Beliefs and Conspiracy Theories” During an interview with Information last March.
“Hearing about how my daughter had been harassed online and how her friends felt about it, focused me in a way I hadn’t thought about before,” he told CNBC.
Gates, who founded Microsoft in 1975, told CNBC that he initially believed that people would Use computers and the Internet responsibly.
“You know, my naivety is that when we make information available, people want the correct information,” he said.
Gates added that people will seek “correct information” for things like medical advice but can also become victims Confirmation Bias.
“I will drown too. Let’s say there’s a politician I don’t like, and there’s some article that criticizes him a little bit,” he told CNBC. “I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s such a good critique. [and] I enjoyed reading it, even if it was exaggerated.’”
Representatives for Gates did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
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