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August 31, 2026

Urgent: maximise the positive uses of AI

Bill Gates's latest essay has particular resonance in Europe

John Thornhill

4 min read

Many people discount everything that Bill Gates has to say nowadays. The Silicon Valley in-crowd tend to stifle a yawn whenever the 70-year-old Microsoft founder speaks, and dismiss him as a relic from the past. Progressives shun him for his shameful association with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, for which Gates has repeatedly apologised, while insisting he did not do or see anything illicit.

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John Thornhill

John Thornhill is Sifted’s founder and innovation editor of the Financial Times. He tweets from @johnthornhillft

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