“We are in a world of shortage, but these advances will help us take on all of the top problems,” he said at a CNBC-moderated panel in the Saudi Arabian capital.

“We need to solve these infectious diseases ... We need to help health care workers do their job.”

Gates believes that ultimately AI will alter the labour environment in developed countries but will help society take care of older people or address class sizes in schools.

“As we free labour up from things like manufacturing, we can shift it to some of these very human-centric needs,” he said. Gates has previously said that robots should face an income tax.

A renowned figure in the field of information technology, Gates did admit that there were challenges ahead with new advancements, such as issues regarding privacy and political advertisements and campaigns. He added that parents would also have to have “some judgement” if their children were playing “too many video games” and weren’t exercising.

Gate’s comments come just days after high-profile physicist Stephen Hawking warned on the emergence of AI, saying it could be the “worst event in the history of our civilisation” unless society finds a way to control its development.

—CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal contributed to this article.