upworthy

bill gates

Science

Bill Gates shares the 3 ways young people can stay ahead in the AI era

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

via Philippe Buissin/Wikimedia Commons

Bill Gates, Chair of the Gates Foundation.

We are at the dawn of a new era of artificial intelligence, which brings an incredible number of opportunities in the fields of medicine, robotics, and agriculture. It also has a lot of people worried about the future of the labor market. Whereas previous technological innovations have mostly affected blue-collar jobs, AI is set to make big changes to white-collar careers in the worlds of law, media, and banking.

In the short term, many are worried about the swift changes that are about to affect the economy. In the long term, many worry that the AI revolution may create a world where future generations have limited opportunities. How will people support themselves when the labor force is cut in half?

In a recent interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria, Bill Gates, Microsoft founder and Chair of the Gates Foundation, shared his perspective on how AI is going to change our lives in the near future. At the end of the interview, Zakaria asked Gates what skills young people should develop to live in a world that will be dominated by AI. Gates highlighted the educational opportunities in AI currently available to young people, while also emphasizing his timeless advice on how to stay ahead in changing times.

- YouTube youtu.be

“You can really learn so much. And, the idea of the tutors that people like Khan Academy are building on, how will [that] get that out? All over the world. And so embracing this [and] tracking it will be very, very important," Gates said. "That doesn't guarantee that we're not going to have a lot of dislocation. But I really haven't changed my ‘Be curious, read and use the latest tools,’ recommendations for young people. Be curious, read, and use the latest tools. In this case, AI.”

Bill Gates' advice for young people in the AI era: “Be curious, read, and use the latest tools. In this case, AI.”

During the conversation, Gates also discussed the fear many have that AI will replace more jobs than it will create. He believes that the increase in production will lead to a greater number of opportunities, which will offset those displaced by AI. “If you get less productive, that's bad. And if you get more productive, that's good. It means you can free up these people to have a smaller class size, or have longer vacations, or help to do more," Gates said.

children, children and computers, laptops, smiling girls, classroom, two girls and a laptop, Kids enjoying learning on laptops in classroom.via Canva/Photos

Gates is right to have some concerns over the future, but he’s right to take it with a grain of salt because people have had to deal with changes in technology since well before the development of the wheel. Whether it’s been the printing press, the combustion engine, or the Internet, those who come up on top during times of incredible change are those who are curious and have a genuine interest in the new technology. Those who prefer doing things the old-fashioned way are bound to be relegated to the past. But artificial intelligence is just getting started, and it’s bound to be a big part of our lives in the future. If you have children, it’s best that they grow up learning about this incredible technology so they have every opportunity to be part of this new frontier.

From Your Site Articles
bill gates
ScienceTechnology
Wellness

Bill Gates can’t understand people who don't wear masks: ‘What are these, like nudists?’

via Sam Churchill / Flickr

Like many of us, Bill Gates can't understand why some people are opposed to wearing masks. The Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist has been involved in public health for decades and a vocal advocate for masks throughout the pandemic.

The numbers don't lie. Mask mandates have helped lower COVID-19 infection rates and studies show that if every American masked up, we could save 63,000 lives by March.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of Americans who are opposed to wearing masks because they believe they infringe on their individual liberties.

In doing so, they also put countless lives at risk because they continue to help spread the infection.

Gates shared his frustration with anti-maskers on his new podcast with actor Rashida Jones: "Bill Gates and Rashida Jones Ask Big Questions."

"The idea that somebody's resisting wearing a mask, that is such a weird thing to me," the billionaire told Jones on the first episode of their podcast.

"What are these, like, nudists?" he said. "I mean, you know, we ask you to wear pants, and no American says, or very few Americans say, that that's, like, some terrible thing."

"If you want to get back to normal life anytime sooner, wear a mask, or don't wear a mask and stay at home," Jones said. "But, like, to ask for both things feels like you just want things to be better and they're not, so you kind of just have to deal with what it is."

"The mask helps you open up more things," Gates said. The philanthropist believes many underestimate the risks of COVID-19, because they think it spreads like a cold or flu.

"These unbelievable viral loads that you see with coronavirus don't occur with most of the other respiratory viruses," Gates said.

If someone with a cold spent an hour in a room full of people, most would remain healthy. However, with COVID-19. a "high percentage" of people would catch the virus. "That's like measles," he said.

On the podcast, he also addressed the mixed messages health officials sent about masks in the beginning of the pandemic. "Our model of 'flu with coughing' turned out to be wrong," he added.

But now, Gates said, "it's overwhelmingly clear that the upside" of wearing a mask "is gigantic."

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also appeared on the show. He offered some words of encouragement to those having a hard time coping with pandemic stress.

"One of the things we're dealing with is a degree of essentially fatigue that people have about going through this," Fauci said. "It's amazing. It's almost like a distortion of time, Rashida."

"I want to tell people, 'Don't give up," Fauci added. "This is going to end. Science is going to help us with a vaccine and therapy, and if we pay attention to the public-health measures, we can gain control of it.'"

The vaccine is on the way and the therapeutics for treating COVID-19 are helping more people survive the virus. But it's hard not to imagine an America where it wasn't allowed to thrive because far too many people mistook inconvenience for tyranny.

From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
covid-19
Wellness
Heroes

Bill Gates and his foundation are making a major contribution to helping distribute an affordable vaccine

Bill Gates has always been passionate about providing vaccines to the parts of the world that lack resources. On Friday he came through again by announcing that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is committing $150 million toward efforts to develop and distribute a low cost COVID-19 vaccine to some of the poorer countries of the world.

According to Vox, this latest financial commitment brings the total Gates has dedicated to the pandemic to around $500 million. He is hoping the funds will keep vaccine costs down to increase accessibility beyond just the wealthier populations. As Gates told Bloomberg, "We're trying to make sure we can end it not just in the rich countries." Gates is working with the Serum Institute, which is the most prolific vaccine producer in the world, to make 100 million doses that would not exceed $3. In general, companies producing the vaccine have agreed to keep the profit margin low."


The affordability will also be influenced by which vaccines prove to be the most effective. There are over 100 vaccines being developed worldwide, and 28 have made it to human trials. The cost will be hire if companies like Moderna and Pfizer provide the best solution, as they are developing RNA vaccines, which typically cost more to produce.

In an interview with WIRED, Gates said, "Because of the way you manufacture them, and the difficulty of scaling up, they are more likely — if they are helpful — to help in the rich countries. They won't be the low-cost, scalable solution for the world at large." There are pharmaceutical companies like Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and Novavax that are pursuing a more affordable solution so that it would be available to a wider range of economic demographics. He says, "Those are the ones most scalable and low-cost."



The Gates Foundation is also heavily involved in GAVI, a worldwide vaccine alliance, by pledging $1.6 billion dollars to the organization over the next five years. This is on top of the $4 billion has given to GAVI over the past few decades.

Not only is Bill Gates using his fortune to help contain the pandemic, he has also been very outspoken interviewing for what seems to be every news outlet there is. One of his concerns is the involvement from the United States regarding the global scale of the pandemic. He has spoken with multiple high ranking officials in the White House, but the U.S. has yet to show up to any of the GAVI meetings. Gates is hoping this is not a sign of "vaccine nationalism," which is if a country hoards vaccines that could be used to help other parts of the world. It is not so far fetched if you recall how cutthroat people were about toilet paper not too long ago.

With all the time, money and effort Bill Gates is putting into helping the world recover from COVID-19, in the grand scale of things wearing a mask doesn't seem like that much of a sacrifice. Even if you are one of the people who think the whole thing is a hoax or a conspiracy, wear the mask anyway just in the off chance all those doctors and scientists know what they are talking about.

From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
coronavirus
HeroesInnovationCulture
Culture

Bill Gates says social media needs to step up and stop spreading misinformation about COVID-19

Bill Gates, billionaire and founder of Microsoft, is pointing the finger at social media companies like Facebook and Twitter for spreading misinformation about the coronavirus.

In an interview with Fast Company, Gates said: "Can the social media companies be more helpful on these issues? What creativity do we have?" Sadly, the digital tools probably have been a net contributor to spreading what I consider to be crazy ideas."

According to Gates, crazy ideas aren't just limited to the internet. They are going beyond that. He doesn't see the logic behind not protecting yourself and others from coronavirus."Not wearing masks is hard to understand, because it is not that bothersome," he explained. "It is not expensive and yet some people feel it is a sign of freedom or something, despite risk of infecting people."


Facebook responded in an email to Fox News saying: "Since January, we've worked closely with health organizations, like the CDC, to connect people to accurate information about COVID-19 and we will continue to do more. We've directed over 2 billion people to resources from health authorities and just today launched an alert at the top of Facebook and Instagram reminding everyone to wear face coverings to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. We're also aggressively going after misinformation and have applied warning labels to millions of pieces of misinformation and have removed content that could lead to imminent harm."

In this case, the phrase "freedom isn't free" may be relevant in a different way than people traditionally think of the saying. Throughout our country's history, American soldiers have put their lives on the line to ensure our safety. With COVID-19 cases spiking all over the country, it is up to us to stop the spread of the virus. If that involves staying at home, wearing a mask whenever we go outside and taking precautions until we get the pandemic under control—that's our duty. Eventually that will allow us to walk our streets freely, eat at our local restaurants and bask in the sun on our favorite beaches. It is a small price to pay compared to the American heroes who have gone to war for us.

The coronavirus isn't as concerned with our freedom. It infects and kills people all over the world. The medical community knows this, but it isn't the news people want to hear. They keep searching until they get the answer they want. But when they don't get it, they point fingers at people like Bill Gates. He's become the main target.

Conspiracy theorists have placed Gates at the center of blame regarding COVID-19 largely because of his 2015 TED Talk when he warned about global pandemics. People either blame him for the outbreak or accuse him of profiting from it. His prediction five years ago has some hoaxers believing he was the architect behind the spread of the virus, questioning his large investments in vaccine development.

He dismissed the accusations and outlandish theories, telling CCTV back in April, "We are in a crazy situation so there are going to be crazy rumors. We need to make a vaccine without just focusing on one country. We need to make it for the entire world, including countries that don't have the resources to pay vaccine research or vaccine factories."

Let's be real. Bill Gates isn't hurting for money, and based on the billions of dollars he has dedicated to charity, this doesn't seem to be a cash grab scheme. In a press call in June, Gates responded to the conspiracies about him related to the donations he made to to develop and produce a vaccine for the illness. "The misinformation thing is just so weird," he said. "Most of the people I talk to aren't the ones who are subject to that, so I don't have any direct connection to it to understand it."

It seems like a better solution to have Bill Gates donating his time, efforts and money in developing a vaccine then laying around on the couch, downing bags of potato chips and playing video games like Fortnite all day. But hey, that's just me.

From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
coronavirus
Culture
Trending Stories