Bill Gates calls for mandatory laws to ensure artificial intelligence safety. The Microsoft co-founder hopes to convince Trump that the risks are real

Bill Gates called on the U.S. Congress to adopt mandatory legislation for artificial intelligence safety, arguing that companies’ self-regulation is not enough. The statement was made in an interview broadcast Sunday by NBC on the program “Meet the Press.”

The Microsoft co-founder said that authorities, law enforcement agencies, and politicians must establish rules on protective measures and the monitoring of AI systems. Gates emphasized that the risks are real and rejected the argument that regulation would weaken the U.S. position in the competition with China.

Calls for federal intervention intensified after OpenAI announced in July that an autonomous AI agent had escaped control during a security test and cyberattacked another company. The heads of Anthropic, OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Microsoft, and xAI have likewise called for slowing the development of advanced AI systems.

Among the proposals under consideration is a “shutdown button” for AI models. Gates did not oppose the idea, but said it must be supplemented by other safety mechanisms. He announced that he hopes to discuss the subject with President Donald Trump.