Bill Gates says his Jeffrey Epstein association was a "huge mistake" driven by a desire to raise funds, and hopes the ties will not undermine his AI arguments (Ina Fried/Axios)

Bill Gates admitted that his past relationship with Jeffrey Epstein was a “huge mistake” motivated by fundraising ambitions and expressed concern that the controversy could weaken his advocacy for artificial-intelligence regulation. Separately, Meta agreed to pay up to $16.68 billion and implement extensive safeguards, including teen time limits and algorithmic controls, to settle U.S. states’ claims over child-addictive design of Facebook and Instagram.