Bill Gates calls for tighter safeguards on bulk data collection

Gates discusses the iPhone case, AI and the Microsoft Surface Book in his latest Reddit chat

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has demanded more public debate around bulk data collection, stating that there are currently insufficient safeguards in place to ensure that the information is only used for the proper reasons.

Gates made his comments in his third 'Ask Me Anything' session on web forum service Reddit.

"I think there needs to be a discussion about when the government should be able to gather information. What if we had never had wiretapping? Also the government needs to talk openly about safeguards," he said.

"Right now a lot of people don't think the government has the right checks to make sure information is only used in criminal situations. So this case will be viewed as the start of a discussion.

"I think very few people take the extreme view that the government should be blind to financial and communication data, but very few people think giving the government carte blanche without safeguards makes sense.

"A lot of countries like the UK and France are also going through this debate. For tech companies there needs to be some consistency, including how governments work with each other. The sooner we modernise the laws the better," he said.

Gates also called for improved regulation around artificial intelligence, a hot topic given that a computer has recently beaten the world champion at board game 'Go'.

"I think it is worth discussing [regulation] because I share the view of Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking that when a few people control a platform with extreme intelligence it creates dangers in terms of power and eventually control," he said.

He also discussed his unsurprising use of the Microsoft Surface Book and Windows 10.

"I just recently switched to the Surface Book. I only detach the screen a few times a week and I like the keyboard better than my previous Surface [and] I use the latest version of Windows - always updated Windows 10," he said.