Did Bill Gates Say Electronic Tattoos Could Replace Smartphones?

Correction: This article was originally published on 4 March 2022 and reported a circulating claim that Bill Gates expected electronic tattoos to replace smartphones. Subsequent verification found no credible evidence that Gates made that statement or invested in Chaotic Moon. A Gates spokesperson described the claim as false. The article has been restored and corrected to preserve the historical record.

In early 2022, reports circulated online claiming that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates believed electronic tattoos could eventually replace smartphones. The reports connected Gates with temporary wearable technology developed by Chaotic Moon, but they did not provide a verifiable interview, speech, press release or direct quotation.

What are electronic tattoos?

Electronic tattoos are thin, flexible wearable systems placed temporarily on the skin. Depending on their design, they can incorporate conductive materials, sensors or near-field communication technology to collect biometric information, authenticate a user or communicate with another device.

Chaotic Moon demonstrated its “Tech Tats” concept in 2015. The experimental system used conductive paint and small electronic components to explore health monitoring and other wearable applications. It was not a complete smartphone replacement.

What was incorrectly attributed to Bill Gates?

The original report said Gates saw electronic tattoos as a future way to communicate, send messages and make calls. However, no primary source has been found for that statement. The Instagram post cited by early reports was not evidence of an announcement by Gates.

Independent fact-checkers later contacted a Gates spokesperson, who denied both the supposed prediction and reports that Gates had invested in Chaotic Moon. The company itself had been acquired by Accenture in 2015.

What is verified?

Wearable electronics and skin-mounted sensors remain genuine areas of research. Separately, the Gates Foundation helped fund MIT research into an invisible medical-record marker associated with vaccination, but that project was not a communications device and was unrelated to replacing smartphones.

Verdict: Electronic tattoos are real experimental technology, but the claim that Bill Gates announced they would replace smartphones is unsupported.

Verification sources: Newtral’s fact-check and response from a Gates spokesperson; AFP Fact Check on related digital-tattoo claims.