Warren Buffett recently shared his thoughts on the potential impact of artificial intelligence during Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting. He expressed concern about the technology’s ability to deceive, citing a personal experience in which he witnessed a video of himself transmitting a message that he never actually recorded. The video was so convincing that even his closest family members would not be able to distinguish it from reality.
“I had something that made me a little nervous. Quite recently, I saw an image on the screen before my eyes. “It was me and my voice, wearing the clothes I wear, and my wife or daughter wouldn’t be able to detect any difference, and I delivered a message that in no way came from me,” he said.
Buffett acknowledged that artificial intelligence can do both great good and harm, and only time will tell to what extent it will change society.
“I don’t know anything about artificial intelligence, but I don’t deny its existence, importance or anything like that. Last year I said that when we developed nuclear weapons, we let the genie out of the bottle. And this genie has been doing terrible things lately, and this genie’s power, you know, scares the hell out of me. As a result, I don’t know of any way to put the genie back in the bottle, and AI is somewhat similar. It’s out there, it’s partially in the bottle, and it’s extremely vital, and someone will do it. So we may wish we had never seen this genie, because he can do wonderful things, but I’m certainly not the one to judge.”
Asked about which Berkshire businesses could be impacted by AI, he said: “As far as our businesses are concerned, they will solve everything. We have clever people and, of course, if this is used in a pro-social way, it will bring great benefits to society. But I don’t know how you can be sure that that will happen, just as I don’t know how you can be sure that when you operate two atomic bombs in World War II you will know that you haven’t created something that you can later destroy the world.”
Meanwhile, Warren Buffett assured shareholders that the management he expects to replace him at Berkshire Hathaway is ready for the job and praised Apple, even though Berkshire recently reduced its position among iPhone makers.
In a speech at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting, the legendary investor also paid tribute to his tardy partner Charlie Munger and expressed hope that the conglomerate’s cash hoards, which reached a record $189 billion last quarter, would continue to grow.
“I had something that made me a little nervous. Quite recently, I saw an image on the screen before my eyes. “It was me and my voice, wearing the clothes I wear, and my wife or daughter wouldn’t be able to detect any difference, and I delivered a message that in no way came from me,” he said.
Boost
Buffett acknowledged that artificial intelligence can do both great good and harm, and only time will tell to what extent it will change society.
“I don’t know anything about artificial intelligence, but I don’t deny its existence, importance or anything like that. Last year I said that when we developed nuclear weapons, we let the genie out of the bottle. And this genie has been doing terrible things lately, and this genie’s power, you know, scares the hell out of me. As a result, I don’t know of any way to put the genie back in the bottle, and AI is somewhat similar. It’s out there, it’s partially in the bottle, and it’s extremely vital, and someone will do it. So we may wish we had never seen this genie, because he can do wonderful things, but I’m certainly not the one to judge.”
Boost
Asked about which Berkshire businesses could be impacted by AI, he said: “As far as our businesses are concerned, they will solve everything. We have clever people and, of course, if this is used in a pro-social way, it will bring great benefits to society. But I don’t know how you can be sure that that will happen, just as I don’t know how you can be sure that when you operate two atomic bombs in World War II you will know that you haven’t created something that you can later destroy the world.”
Meanwhile, Warren Buffett assured shareholders that the management he expects to replace him at Berkshire Hathaway is ready for the job and praised Apple, even though Berkshire recently reduced its position among iPhone makers.
In a speech at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting, the legendary investor also paid tribute to his tardy partner Charlie Munger and expressed hope that the conglomerate’s cash hoards, which reached a record $189 billion last quarter, would continue to grow.
