Since taking office in January 2025, the Trump administration has significantly reduced funding for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and eliminated over 80 percent of foreign aid projects worldwide, according to recent reports. This contraction in aid has led to 64 million fewer people receiving assistance last year, with total funding dropping from $47.5 billion in 2022 to approximately $33.3 billion in 2025.
Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has voiced concerns that these reductions in aid could be intensified by the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI). In a recent statement, Gates highlighted the risk that, without regulation, AI tools will primarily serve those with financial means, rather than those who stand to benefit most. “Left to the market alone, the most capable tools will be built first for those most able to pay for them,” he noted.
The Gates Foundation plans to invest $1 billion over the next two years to broaden access to AI technologies. Gates characterized AI as a crossroads: “It could become one of the greatest equalisers in history, or the fastest way to deepen inequity. This is not a long-range prediction. It’s a present-tense choice.” The foundation aims to tailor AI applications to various linguistic and cultural contexts to ensure greater affordability and relevance, with potential applications including accelerating efforts to eradicate diseases like malaria.
Experts have expressed unease about the Trump administration’s reluctance to implement AI regulatory measures. Unlike the post-World War II era, when the United States played a leading role in establishing global institutions and frameworks, the current geopolitical climate lacks unified leadership, diminishing coordinated oversight over AI development. Gates warned that relying on technology companies to self-regulate is problematic, as industry biases can influence outcomes.
The Gates Foundation’s recent Goalkeepers report criticized the sharp declines in foreign aid funding, describing progress in combating global poverty and disease as “fragile” and adversely affected by the cuts. Gates underscored the need for international cooperation to address the challenges AI presents, contrasting this with today’s fragmented geopolitical landscape and the intense financial motivations driving AI innovation.
Despite these concerns, Gates remains cautiously optimistic about AI’s potential. He emphasized that, if harnessed responsibly, AI could serve as a catalyst for global improvement and equitable progress. The reception of his comments may be complicated, however, by renewed public scrutiny stemming from his acknowledged past associations with Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender, which Gates has publicly regretted.