In response to a question about the spreading of "misinformation" via AI, Gates referred to the events of January 6, 2021, as an "attack on the Capitol. He said:

I'm certainly concerned about political polarization, and I know the U.S. situation best of all. I wouldn't have expected people to attack the Capitol, or people to deny the validity of election results. I'm in a state of shock about that.

We can't blame AI for that. That happened. It may have been magnified by digital channels that allow various conspiracy theories like QAnon or whatever to be blasted out by people who wanted to believe those things. So, the digital tools may have played an auxiliary role. 

Gates added, "You'll have to take AI into consideration" to "solve the digital misinformation [problem]." He described "political polarization" as another social ill that could be partially remedied via the use of AI to reduce "confirmation bias."

Gates framed "climate change" as an existential threat to humanity while calling for government measures to force reductions and eventual elimination of fossil fuel consumption and associated carbon dioxide emissions.