Bill Gates took to Reddit for his 11th Reddit “Ask me Anything” (AMA) session yesterday and spent over an hour answering questions on AI, the Metaverse, climate action and more. 

In a Tweet to his 61.6 million followers, the Microsoft co-founder and co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced he would answer questions related to any topic on the platform as he weighed in on some of the tech industry’s hottest topics for the year ahead. 

He explained his main excitement for the year would involve being a good friend and father and spending quality time with his grandchildren, but he also mentioned that he looks forward to contributing to the progress being made with health and climate innovation. 

He also said artificial intelligence is on his mind, and he is excited to see positive AI advancements in the coming years. Web3 and the, however, did not excite him as much. 

Generative AI “will have a huge impact” 

When asked about his views on generative AI, the former Microsoft CEO expressed his excitement for its progress and potential use in medicine and education.

Interestingly, he also said he was still working with Microsoft and was following the progress of generative AI “very closely”, suggesting he has some involvement in Microsoft’s recent interest in generative AI systems. 

As per a Thursday Semafor report, Microsoft is in talks to invest $10 billion into Open AI’s generative AI chatbot ChatGPT so that it can implement it into its own products – from Microsoft Office to Bing. 

When asked what he thought of the chatbot, Gates described it as a glimpse of what was to come but did not say if he was in any way involved in Microsoft’s investment in the system. 

To read more about generative AI, visit our dedicated AI in the Enterprise Page.

Metaverse and Web3 – not as revolutionary as once thought

One of the biggest surprises from Gates' AMA came when the billionaire was asked to comment on a comment he made in the early 2000s about the internet. 

When asked if there were any technologies that could cause transformative shifts like the internet, Gates refuted claims that Web3 and the Metaverse could be as revolutionary as AI. 

Instead, the tech founder echoed his excitement for AI and health tech innovation. 

Sustainability should be a key focus for the enterprise

Another key area of discussion in Gates' AMAs was the climate crisis and how businesses and the world as a whole can work to combat climate change. 

One area of the enterprise that he noted required change was production, explaining that manufacturers must find ways to make green products as cheaply as products that lead to high emissions. 

When asked how individuals can contribute to the climate solution, the Microsoft co-founder highlighted the need for each individual to see themselves as voters, consumers, givers and workers rather than just individuals, highlighting the need to sustainability action in ever aspect of society.