Artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving daily. The multiple tools that exist have their lovers and their detractors. Experts in the field have already warned of the dangers of the evolution of this technology without control, and some countries have already vetoed the use of platforms such as ChatGPT, as is the case in Italy, although it lifted the ban a month later.
The latest to be questioned about the capabilities of AI has been the legendary 92-year-old investor Warren Buffett. The Berkshire Hathaway chief executive compared AI to the invention of the atomic bomb, adding that while he hopes AI will "change everything in the world," he doesn't think it will surpass human intelligence.
In a CNBC interview ahead of his company's annual meeting, Buffett spoke out about artificial intelligence. He compared this technology to the atomic bomb, since he has always been an outspoken opponent of this type of weapon. In his argument, he pointed out that although the creation of the atomic bomb was key during World War II, its release unleashed a power that changed everything. “We invented for very, very good reasons, the atomic bomb. And, in World War II, it was enormously important that we did. But is the capacity that this has unleashed good for the next 200 years of the world?
In the interview, Buffet said that “it's a little weird, but the AI can't tell you which stocks to buy. It can identify me every action that satisfies certain criteria, or tell me some criteria in three seconds. But it definitely has limitations in some respects.” In addition, he added that his friend and Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, explained to him how ChatGPT worked and that he had been testing the application.
Warren's partner, Charlie Munger, also present at the interview, noted that this technology has the ability to "translate the Constitution into Spanish in a second, but it can't tell jokes." “I asked him to tell a joke about Warren and Crypto. He's read all the books and seen everything on TV, but he couldn't do it,” Munger explained. "I told Bill, bring her back to me when he can ask her 'how are you going to get rid of the human race?' I want to know what he says and unplug it before he does,” he joked.
Buffet was clear in his interventions. He pointed out that there will be a lot more robotics in the world, but he remains skeptical of some "hype" of AI. The famous investor continues to trust human intelligence and was forceful in stating that it is not technology that takes away opportunities.
“We are going to see a lot more robotics in the world. Personally, I'm skeptical of some of the hype around artificial intelligence. I think old-fashioned intelligence works pretty well,” he said. In addition, he added that while he hopes AI will "change everything in the world," he doesn't think it will surpass human intelligence.
“That new things come does not take away your opportunities. What gives you opportunities is other people doing stupid things. In the 58 years that we've been running Berkshire, I'd say there's been a huge increase in the number of people doing dumb things, and they do big dumb things,” she concluded.
Buffett's claims are largely in line with what was recently stated by Geoffrey Hinton, who has been called "the godfather of artificial intelligence." Hinton, a former Google employee, resigned from his position to freely and openly express his opinion on the need to stop this uncontrolled race that is taking place in the field of artificial intelligence. "I don't think it should be applied on a large scale until they have understood if they can control it," said one of the pioneers in the development of these technologies.
