Wired posted a chummy interview on Friday with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and long-time technology reporter Steven Levy. The two connected earlier this week for a conversation touching on many of the hottest current events that also intersect with the interests of Gates in his philanthropic and global health roles, as well as his friendship with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Here are some highlights from the exchange, which is worth a read in its entirety:
- On COVID vaccines, Gates is betting on the RNA vaccines strategies coming from Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech and CureVac for use in richer countries. He also predicted the developed world would “largely be able to end this thing by the end of 2021” though poorer nations will lag.
- If he got sick, Gates would request Remdesivir for his treatment. As to testing, he advised that a Seattle project that he supported demonstrated that COVID tests using swaps at the front of the nose, versus the deep sinus dive approach, work great.
- Gates had concerns aplenty about social media, including outrage over the inability of Zuckerberg and others to delete misinformation (including anti-vaccine information and lies about himself), and his opinion that encrypted posts that spread lies, fraud and child pornography should be illegal.
- As to tech and politics, Gates reflected on his own antitrust hearings before lawmakers decades ago relative to the recent showdown: “I had a whole committee attacking me, and they had four at a time. I mean, Jesus Christ, what’s the Congress coming to?”
- He commented on the strange drama unfolding with President Trump’s involvement in the TikTok deal, and recognized that Microsoft will face the plague of social media misinformation if/when it buys the company. Levy noted that as Microsoft’s technology advisor, he could play a role, to which Gates cheekily answered: “Yeah, my critique of dance moves will be fantastically value-added for them.” Gates previously told Bloomberg TV that he relies on his youngest daughter to school him on the ways of TikTok.
