Softbank CEO Says AI That's 10,000X Smarter Than Humans Is Inevitable
During the meeting last week, Son remarked that the company will place its entire focus on pairing robots with artificial intelligence to be utilized in all sorts of mass production, logistics, and autonomous driving. Son recognized that the effort will require “immense capital” and pooling funds with partners, as he said Softbank could not finance it on its own.
Son began his speech talking about artificial general intelligence, or AGI. He added that he believes AI will be at least 10 times smarter than humans within 3-5 years, even earlier than he anticipated. However, he went on to say that if AGI is not going to be that much smarter than humans, “then we don’t need to change the way of living, we don’t need to change the structure of human lifestyle.”
The CEO then termed the technology Softbank would be pursuing as 'artificial super intelligence,' or ASI. Son added that ASI will write a different story to that of AGI, remarking, “[With] ASI, you will see a big improvement.” He then discussed how ASI models will interact with one another, like neurons in a human brain. This will then lead to AI that is 10,000 times smarter than any human, according to Son.
Son, and Softbank have not had the best of years in the recent past. While some of Son’s investments had good returns, there were also many that did not, such as office sharing company WeWork. However, Softbank subsidiary Arm, a British chip designer, has prospered in more recent times with the attention of investors focused on anything AI. It is perhaps of Arm that Son is now willing to make such a bold statement in terms of Softbank’s mission, and his own vision.
During his speech, Son summed up his vision for himself and Softbank, remarking, “Softbank was founded for what purpose? For what purpose was Masa Son born? It may sound strange, but I think I was born to realize ASI.” He concluded, “I am super serious about it.”
