Gates Foundation commits $1 billion to fight AI inequality

The Gates Foundation pledged at least $1 billion over two years to widen global access to AI and address inequality, according to its 2026 Goalkeepers report released Monday.

Funding will target AI use in health care, agriculture, and education, and support development of datasets in underrepresented languages, since most large language models were trained primarily on English text, New York Times reports.

The report warned that without intervention, the most advanced AI tools will first serve wealthy institutions rather than those who could benefit most. Bill Gates argued AI could become either history’s greatest equalizer or its worst source of injustice, and accused the tech industry of downplaying risks due to financial incentives. The pledge follows renewed industry calls for slower AI development.