AI could cause a billion deaths : Are we building AI faster than we are building the governance needed to trust it?
Concern is not that AI will make a billion people lose their jobs or struggle to earn a living, it might refers to an extreme scenario where increasingly capable AI, if misused by malicious actors, could amplify threats such as cyberattacks or biological threats on a catastrophic scale
BOARD INSIGHTS
10/24/20261 min read
“AI could cause a billion deaths.” - Are we building AI faster than we are building the governance needed to trust it?
That headline is alarming. But before I react to it, I tried to understand what it actually means.
As per my understanding, the concern is not that AI will make a billion people lose their jobs or struggle to earn a living, it might refers to an extreme scenario where increasingly capable AI, if misused by malicious actors, could amplify threats such as cyberattacks or biological threats on a catastrophic scale. This is because Bill Gates has separately identified job-market disruption as another major AI risk.
So, for me, there are two very different AI risk conversations:
AI disrupting jobs, skills and business models.
AI being misused in ways that could create catastrophic physical harm.
Both deserve attention—but they require very different responses.
Having spent 30+ years in technology and cybersecurity, I have seen technology evolve from dBase and FoxPro to mobile payments, cybersecurity frameworks, AR and now AI.
One lesson has stayed with me:
Technology can move faster than our ability to understand its consequences.
That is where the boardroom has an important role.
Boards need to ask:
• What business value are we creating with AI?
• What could go wrong?
• How could the technology be misused?
• What data and systems are exposed?
• Who is accountable when AI makes a critical decision?
• Do our cybersecurity, privacy and governance controls match the technology we are deploying?
My technology experience helps me see what AI can enable.
My cybersecurity experience makes me ask what could go wrong.
My entrepreneurship and startup mentoring experience makes me ask whether it creates real business value.
And my Independent Director journey brings these perspectives together at the board level.
AI governance is not about stopping innovation.
It is about making sure innovation does not outrun responsibility.
The boardroom question I would ask is simple:
Are we building AI faster than we are building the governance needed to trust it?