But what does Bill Gates think about generative AI?

According to Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, the use of artificial intelligence by the entire population in developed countries will begin to occur to a “significant” degree in the next 18 to 24 months.

The impact on areas such as productivity and innovation could be unprecedented, according to Gates.

“Artificial intelligence is about to accelerate the pace of new discoveries to a pace that we have never experienced before,” Bill Gates writes on his blog.

Progress for the coming decade

But Bill Gates, who sits at the Gates Foundation that he created with Melinda French Gates, especially spoke about the role of AI in developing countries.

“One of the Gates Foundation’s main AI priorities is to ensure that these tools also address the health problems that affect the poorest on the planet, such as AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria,” Gates wrote.

Mr. Gates cites multiple applications of AI in different countries, while noting that the practical implementation will come not this year, but in the last years of the decade.

Fight against antibiotic resistance

“The work that will be done over the next year sets the stage for a massive technological boom later in the decade” thanks to AI, Mr. Gates wrote.

Among the examples of AI being developed for education and the fight against diseases cited by Mr. Gates in his letter, we can mention:

Fight against antibiotic resistance, or antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) – A researcher from the Aurum Institute, in Ghana, Africa, is working on a software tool that will sift through amounts of information “including local clinical guidelines and health surveillance data regarding pathogens that are currently at risk of developing resistance in the region – and make suggestions on the best drug, the best dosage and the best duration of treatment”.

Personalized teaching driven by AI, such as “Somanasi” — An AI-based tutoring software in Nairobi (Kenya) that “has been designed taking into account the cultural context, so that it seems familiar to the students who use it”.

Reducing the risks associated with pregnancy, given that a woman dies on average every two minutes during childbirth in the world. The solutions include a “Copilot” software for healthcare workers, developed in India by Arman for nurses and midwives who work to “improve the chances of survival of new mothers in India” and which adapts to the level of experience of the professional.

A chatbot for HIV risk assessment who “acts as an impartial and non-judgmental advisor who can provide advice 24/24,” especially for “marginalized and vulnerable populations” who are reluctant to talk about their sexual history with doctors.

A voice-activated mobile application for healthcare workers in Pakistan, which allows them to fill out a medical file when they visit a patient, in order to bridge the gap that exists when “many people do not have a documented medical history”.

“The product must be adapted to the people who will use it”

Mr. Gates particularly emphasizes the AI applications that are being developed in the countries where the health programs take place and which will probably be better adapted to the realities of these countries. For example, voice typing in the medical records application of Pakistan corresponds to the common practice of that country which consists of sending voice messages on mobile devices rather than typing messages.

“We can learn a lot about how to make AI more equitable. The main lesson is that the product must be adapted to the people who will use it,” Mr. Gates wrote.

Mr. Gates predicts that developing countries will not be very far from developed countries when it comes to the adoption of AI:

If I had to make a prediction, in high-income countries, I would say that we are 18-24 months away from a significant level of use of AI by the general population. In African countries, I expect a comparable level of use in about three years. This gap is much shorter than the deadlines that we have observed for other innovations.

Source: “ZDNet.com “