Bill Gates has warned that open-source AI tools could be misused to design bioterrorism weapons, calling it a bigger risk than a naturally caused pandemic.
In his annual letter titled “Optimism with Footnotes,” released on January 9, Gates said AI may change society more than anything humans have created, but it also brings serious threats if misused.
Gates flags bioterrorism risk
Gates wrote that a non-government group using open-source AI tools to design a bioterrorism weapon is a greater risk today than a naturally caused pandemic.
He connected that concern to earlier warnings he made about pandemic readiness, saying better preparation could have reduced suffering during the Covid pandemic.
NDTV Profit explained that biological weapons use pathogens or toxins to spread illness and damage among people, livestock, and crops, and it distinguished government-led biowarfare from bioterrorism by non-state groups.
“No upper limit” on AI
Gates said there is “no upper limit” on how intelligent AI systems will become.
He also wrote that the advances will not plateau before exceeding human levels.
At the same time, he argued that people need to be deliberate about how AI is developed, governed, and deployed.
Harmful use already in focus
Fortune reported that Gates pointed to the risk of AI falling into the hands of bad actors as one of the key issues society must manage.
The same Fortune report said companies and regulators are already dealing with harmful outcomes, citing an example in which Britain’s Technology Secretary Liz Kendall told Elon Musk’s xAI to urgently address a surge in sexualized images generated without consent by its AI tool Grok, which the company then partially restricted.
NDTV also cited an October study in Science involving Microsoft bioengineers that tested weaknesses in safeguards meant to stop non-state actors from developing bioweapons.
According to NDTV, the researchers selected 72 proteins under legal controls, used AI protein design tools to generate more than 70,000 DNA sequences that could create variants of those proteins, and then asked four biosecurity screening system suppliers used by DNA synthesis labs to screen the sequences.
Job disruption and workplace shifts
Gates said disruption to the job market is another major challenge, and Fortune reported he expects the impact to grow over the next five years.
Fortune also reported that Gates urged using 2026 to prepare for these changes, including debating which policies could help spread wealth and address the role jobs play in society.
Separately, Wipro has tightened its hybrid work rules, adding more detailed monitoring of time spent in the office on required office days.
Wipro tightens hybrid work policy
Wipro now requires employees to work from the office three days a week and stay at least six hours in the office on those work-from-office days, measured between the “in” and “out” punches.
Times of India reported that Wipro’s HR sent employees an email describing the change and saying hybrid work remains the “cornerstone” of the company’s future of work.
The email also clarified that six hours is the minimum time in the office and not the total daily working hours, which remain 9.5 hours, with the remaining hours expected to be completed outside the office on the same day.
Multiple reports said the updated rules can affect leave balances, including a half-day leave deduction if employees spend less than six hours in the office on a required day, with further reductions possible for continued non-compliance.
HRKatha added that the company is reportedly tracking the exact number of hours employees spend in the office using punch-in and punch-out monitoring, and that employees were warned their leave balance would be affected if they do not follow the six-hour requirement.
Remote-work flexibility also narrows
Storyboard18 reported that the shift comes even as the company continues the three-days-a-week office attendance requirement, and that Wipro’s HR said tighter monitoring is needed for consistency and collaboration.
Times of India also described Wipro’s earlier hybrid policy, saying employees could get an extra 30 days of remote work in a calendar year under two conditions: 15 days for illness and 15 days for caregiving.
Times of India reported that under the hybrid work policy effective January 1, the number of days was reduced to 12 from the earlier 15 days in a calendar year.
Storyboard18 similarly reported that the number of remote work days permitted under specific circumstances has been reduced to 12 days in a calendar year, from 15 earlier, as cited from an Economic Times report.
