In a rare public appearance, SoftBank Group’s CEO Masayoshi Son outlined his ambitious vision for the future of artificial intelligence, predicting the advent of artificial super intelligence (ASI) that would surpass human capabilities by a staggering factor of 10,000. Speaking at SoftBank’s annual general meeting, Son articulated his belief that ASI will be a transformative force in humanity’s evolution.
Son’s presentation distinguished between artificial general intelligence (AGI), which he anticipates will be up to 10 times smarter than humans and could emerge within the next three to five years, and ASI, which he believes will bring profound changes. He emphasized that while AGI may not significantly alter human lifestyles, ASI’s impact will be monumental, likening its interconnected models to the neurons of the human brain.
The development of ASI, Son explained, would require substantial capital and collaboration with partners, as SoftBank alone cannot fund such a vast endeavor. He also discussed the integration of robotics with artificial intelligence for applications in mass production, logistics, and autonomous driving, reflecting SoftBank’s strategic focus.
Despite setbacks in the performance of the Vision Fund, which is SoftBank’s massive investment vehicle focused on backing tech firms, Son remains optimistic about AI’s potential. The Vision Fund has faced notable losses and high-profile investment failures since 2021, yet Son’s enthusiasm for AI continues to drive his strategic decisions. The recent success of SoftBank’s subsidiary Arm, a British chip designer that went public in September last year, has rekindled investor interest in AI-linked firms, further supporting Son’s vision.
SoftBank shares experienced a decline of more than 3% following the meeting. This drop comes amidst activist investor Elliott Management’s push for a substantial share buyback to boost SoftBank’s market value. Son indicated that while SoftBank is always prepared to repurchase its shares, there are currently no plans to do so. He also did not rule out the possibility of taking SoftBank private should its stock price fall significantly below the company’s intrinsic value.