The Microsoft legend - who still serves as an adviser to the tech giant he co-founded in 1975 - has addressed worries about the future of AI, with some people wondering how much of a negative impact it will have on the world.

He told The Verge: "Well, the near-term issues are more using it in a positive way, in areas like health and education.

"Even in the United States, we have shortages. The idea of the personal tutor, which I’ve been out in Newark to see Khanmigo [Khan Academy’s AI tool], which is based on ChatGPT.

"Seeing how great that is to help the teachers do their jobs, help the students who are behind or ahead stay engaged."

While he acknowledged the risks as "bad guys" start making more use of the technology, he thinks "overall" it will be positive.

He added: "So, for the next decade, we’ll be experiencing increased productivity in a lot of areas, which is overwhelmingly very good news.

"As it gets more powerful, and you know, as bad guys are using it, there’ll be issues. But overall, I believe that it’s a beneficial thing, and we need to just shape it in the right way."

Gates also played down concerns about disinformation through AI, pointed out that "people can type misinformation" themselves.

He explained: "I think AI, on balance, is super beneficial to work on climate. People can type misinformation into a word processor. They don’t need AI, you know, to type out crazy things.

"And so I’m not sure that, other than creating deepfakes, AI really changes the balance there.

"In fact, I’d say that as people talk about reducing misinformation, the role of AI can be a positive role in terms of looking at what’s going on in a superefficient way."