Bill Gates says AI is 'pretty dumb' now, but predicts everyone will have robot 'agents' within 5 years

The world of gaming is being rocked by an AI controversy that could upend the multi-billion dollar industry. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates had a bold prediction for the future of artificial intelligence, arguing that every person will soon have a robot "agent" acting on their behalf. "In the near future, anyone who's online will be able to have a personal assistant powered by artificial intelligence that's far beyond today's technology," Gates said, according to report in Fortune. They're proactive -- capable of making suggestions before you ask for them." Gates comments come as AI technology continues to develop rapidly, with new platforms such as OpenAI's ChatGPT gaining mainstream popularity over the last year. While Gates acknowledged the "software is still pretty dumb" as of 2023, that reality will "change completely" within the next five years. The billionaire tech entrepreneur argued that basically everyone will have a personal assistant adept at carrying out seemingly any task, citing the potential for the technology to plan entire vacations for its users. "When asked, it will recommend things to do based on your interests and propensity for adventure, and it will book reservations at the types of restaurants you would enjoy," Gates said. "If you want this kind of deeply personalized planning today, you need to pay a travel agent and spend time telling them what you want." The Microsoft co-founder argued the technology will have wide-ranging uses to make life easier, carrying out more complex tasks than users of current voice assistants are used to. "If your friend just had surgery, your agent will offer to send flowers and be able to order them for you," Gates said. "If you tell it you'd like to catch up with your old college roommate, it will work with their agent to find a time to get together, and just before you arrive, it will remind you that their oldest child just started college at the local university." While the technology Gates envisions may make people think of the widely held assistants many currently hold in their pocket, such as Apple's Siri, AI assistants will be capable of much more. "Bill Gates is talking about Natural Language Processing (NLP) as the key to these improved AI assistants," Christopher Alexander, the Chief Analytics Officer of Pioneer Development Group, told Fox News Digital. "NLP enabled assistants differ from Siri because NLP is actually a coding language.