Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt fears AI can be misused by terrorists: Report

Schmidt called for government oversight on private tech companies developing AI models, but warned that too much regulation can stifle innovation

Google's former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Eric Schmidt is worried that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be used by terrorists or "rogue states" to "harm innocent people," according to a BBC report.

Eric Schmidt, billionaire and co-founder of Schmidt Futures, at the AI Action Summit in Paris, France, on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025 (Nathan Laine/Bloomberg)

Schmidt held senior posts at Google from 2001 to 2017.

“The real fears that I have are not the ones that most people talk about AI - I talk about extreme risk,” the report quoted Schmidt as saying at the AI Action Summit in Paris.

He fears that "North Korea, or Iran, or even Russia" could adopt and misuse the technology to create biological weapons.

He thus called for government oversight of private tech companies developing AI models. For instance, he agreed with former US President Joe Biden's export control on powerful microchips to all but 18 countries.

This could, however, still be reversed by current US President Donald Trump, with Vice President JD Vance saying regulation would “kill a transformative industry just as it's taking off.”

"I'm always worried about the 'Osama Bin Laden' scenario, where you have some truly evil person who takes over some aspect of our modern life and uses it to harm innocent people," he said.

But at the same time, he also warned that over-regulation could stifle innovation stating that “AI and the future is largely going to be built by private companies.”

Taking the example of Europe, Schmidt said that the result of too much regulation in Europe “is that the AI revolution, which is the most important revolution in my opinion since electricity, is not going to be invented in Europe.”