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- Bill Gates: AI “Makes Nuclear Weapons Look Like Nothing” 😱
Bill Gates: AI “Makes Nuclear Weapons Look Like Nothing” 😱
Meta Revises New Terms After Backlash Over AI Training 😬
Gina Acosta
October 18, 2026
In partnership with
Welcome to another edition of Horizon AI,
In today’s issue, we take a look at a deep-dive conversation between Ezra Klein and Bill Gates about the rapid advancement of AI and the urgent need for societal and governmental engagement to prevent catastrophic outcomes.
Let’s jump right in!
Read Time: 4.5’ min
Here's what's new today in the Horizon AI
Chart of the week: AI Is Getting Cheaper Faster Than Any Other Transformative Technology in History
Meta Revises Terms After Backlash Over AI Training Concerns
AI Findings/Resources
AI tools to check out
Video of the week
TOGETHER WITH ROKU
Blu Dot surpasses 2,000% ROAS with self-serve CTV ads
Home furniture brand Blu Dot blew up on CTV with help from Roku Ads Manager. Here’s how:
After a test campaign reached 211,000 households and achieved 1,010% ROAS, the brand went all in to promote its annual sales event. It removed age and income constraints to expand reach and shifted budget to custom audiences and retargeting, where intent was strongest.
The results speak for themselves. As Blu Dot increased their investment by 10x, ROAS jumped to 2,308% and more page-view conversions surpassed 50,000.
“For CTV campaigns, Roku has been a top performer,” said Claire Folkestad, Paid Media Strategist, Blu Dot. “Comping to our other platforms, we have seen really strong ROAS… and highly efficient CPMs, lower than any other CTV partner we've worked with.”
Using Roku Ads Manager, the campaign moved from a pilot to a permanent performance engine for the brand.
Chart of the week
AI Is Getting Cheaper Faster Than Any Other Transformative Technology in History
AI costs have fallen approximately 47% per quarter since 2023 for a given level of performance, according to Epoch AI estimates.
That decline is roughly 4 times faster than DNA sequencing, 6 times faster than computing, 18 times faster than lithium batteries, and 54 times faster than electricity over the periods compared.
AI News
META
Meta Revises Terms After Backlash Over AI Training Concerns
Meta has removed language from its commercial terms that legal experts interpreted as potentially allowing the company to scrape website content to train its AI systems.
Details:
The removed clause said Meta could “use any content from [a business account’s] domains, web pages, or URLs to provide, develop, improve, research, train, and maintain the integrity of” Meta products and services.
Legal experts and media observers argued that the language could give Meta the right to use website content for AI training without payment and potentially supersede blocking instructions in a site’s robots.txt file.
After removing the provision, a spokesperson clarified that the terms applied only to its advertising and business products, and that website owners can still use robots.txt to signal their preferences.
AI Findings/Resources
🚀 The CEO of Product Hunt describes the one trait that separates winning products from losing ones. He calls it Buoyancy
🧙 Demis Hassabis showcases the capabilities of Gemini 4 Argon by building a wizard chess game like the one in the Harry Potter movies
AI Tools to check out
⚙️ Anatomy: Describe a machine in one line. Claude brings it to life.
🌐 Neopress: Build and grow your website by chatting with AI.
📝 Oats: Free, open-source meeting notes for Mac.
▶️ Claras: Transcribe, summarize & chat with any YouTube video.
Video of the week
Bill Gates on AI: “It Makes Nuclear Weapons Look Like Nothing”
In this interview, Bill Gates describes a significant shift in his outlook on AI. While he once viewed it as a long-term challenge, recent breakthroughs in coding, biology, and cyber capabilities have led him to believe that we have crossed critical, dangerous thresholds.
The Risk of Self-Regulation: Gates emphasizes that relying on AI companies to self-regulate is "insane" given the potential for catastrophic cyberattacks and bioterrorism. He argues that the industry and governments are currently not sufficiently prepared for the consequences of these technologies.
The Employment Future: A major portion of the discussion focuses on the "job apocalypse" and the potential for AI to disrupt the labor market. Gates proposes policy ideas such as taxing AI-driven labor and establishing "human-reserved" jobs (like childcare and elder care) to mitigate social upheaval during this 20-year transition period.
Despite his concerns, Gates highlights the potential for AI to be a force for equality. His foundation is actively working to make AI tools accessible to non-English speakers, particularly in the Global South, to help with critical areas like health and agriculture. Gates also sees AI’s potential to deliver personalized learning and motivation for students, though he acknowledges the risk of "cognitive offloading."
Along the way, he weighs in on the race with China, regulations to protect children, and other topics. You can check the video description for timestamps and jump to what interests you.
That’s a wrap!
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Gina 👩🏻💻