The Gates Foundation has announced plans to spend at least $1 billion over the next two years to expand access to artificial intelligence and AI-enabled solutions. This move aims to address the issue of unequal access to AI technology, which has often been limited to those with the greatest financial resources. The foundation's goal is to ensure that AI helps narrow gaps between the richest and poorest rather than widening them.
The announcement comes as the foundation launches its 10th annual Goalkeepers Report, which focuses on the urgent actions needed to ensure that AI benefits everyone, not just a select few. The report, titled "Make This Matter: AI, Equity, and the Choice We Can't Delay," argues that AI's trajectory is not fixed and that there is a short window to influence who benefits from it. The report highlights examples of foundation-supported partners that are already using AI to change lives in clinics, classrooms, and small farms.
According to Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation, the organization was created to address a basic market failure: people with the greatest needs often have the least power to shape where innovation and investment go. Gates notes that AI presents the same challenge, only at much greater speed, and that left to the market alone, the most capable tools will be built first for those who can pay for them, not necessarily for those who could benefit most.
The Goalkeepers Report identifies three areas where action is needed to ensure that AI improves lives and livelihoods for more people. These areas include making AI tools work in every language people speak, as more than 90% of the data used to train early large language models came from English-language sources. The report also emphasizes the need for effective tools to reflect the knowledge and priorities of the people who need them most.
The Gates Foundation's funding will support partners that are already working to close the gaps in access to AI and ensure that AI tools reflect the knowledge and priorities of the people who need them most. The foundation aims to harness AI for good, but notes that this will not happen by accident. It requires a deliberate commitment from government leaders and companies developing the technology to measure success not only by what AI can do for the most profitable users but by what it can do for those who stand to gain the most.
The report highlights the need for investment in people and access so that communities can shape how AI works for them. This includes providing opportunities for doctors, farmers, teachers, and developers to learn how to evaluate AI tools and adapt what works to their own contexts. The foundation's funding will support efforts to build the capacity of individuals and communities to use AI effectively.
The Gates Foundation's commitment to equitable AI is a significant step towards ensuring that the benefits of AI are shared by all. The foundation's efforts to address the issue of unequal access to AI technology have the potential to make a significant impact on the lives of millions of people around the world.
Key points
- Gates Foundation to spend $1bn over two years to expand access to artificial intelligence
- AI technology has often been limited to those with the greatest financial resources
- The foundation aims to ensure that AI helps narrow gaps between the richest and poorest rather than widening them
