Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has called on the United States to take a leading role in setting rules for artificial intelligence, warning that reaching an international agreement on the technology could be even more difficult than Cold War negotiations to limit nuclear weapons.

Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press," Gates said that companies cannot rely solely on self-regulation and that governments must be involved in setting security standards and monitoring mechanisms.

"Nobody thinks self-regulation is enough," Gates said, adding that the US Congress should pass legislation that would require AI companies to put in place safeguards and monitoring systems. According to him, these measures would not significantly slow down the development of the technology, while they would help control the risks that could arise from its use.

Gates also warned of the risk of AI being misused by people with bad intentions. He said the technology is already powerful enough to cause events with catastrophic consequences and that the risk is not just related to the systems themselves, but also to how they can be used by people. Asked whether the United States and China could follow the example of Cold War agreements on nuclear weapons, Gates said an agreement on artificial intelligence would be even harder to reach.

He stressed that the US should lead efforts to create an international framework, arguing that the challenges created by artificial intelligence affect all of humanity and require international cooperation.