Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett has expressed concerns about the potential risks associated with artificial intelligence (AI), comparing it to the development of nuclear weapons and highlighting its potential for use in scams.
Warren Buffett, the renowned investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has raised concerns about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence (AI), drawing parallels to the advent of nuclear weapons and warning about the risk of scams.
Buffett, known for his conservative investment approach, admitted his limited knowledge of AI but acknowledged its significance and potential for both good and evil.
"I don’t know anything about AI," Buffett said, "but that doesn’t mean I deny its existence or importance or anything of the sort."
Echoing his sentiments from last year, Buffett compared AI to the unleashing of a genie from a bottle, a power that has both immense potential and grave risks.
"That we let a genie out of the bottle when we developed nuclear weapons. And that genie has been now doing some terrible things lately. And the power of that genie is, you know, scares the hell out of me. And on the other hand, I don’t know any way to get the genie back in the bottle."
Buffett highlighted the "enormous potential" for scams using AI, particularly in exploiting vulnerabilities through convincing synthetic images and messages.
"If you can reproduce images I can’t even tell that say ‘I need money,’ you know, ‘It’s your daughter, just had a car crash. I need $50,000 wired.’ I mean, scamming has always been part of the American scene, but this would make me, if I was interested in investing in scamming, it’s going to be the growth industry of all time. And it’s enabled in a way. Obviously, AI has potential for good things too but I don’t know how you, based on the one I saw recently, I practically would send money to myself over and over in some crazy country."
Buffett stressed the need for caution and responsible development of AI, acknowledging the potential for both progress and harm.
"I don’t think we know how to handle what we did with the nuclear genie. But I do think as someone who doesn’t understand a damn thing about it, it has enormous potential for good and enormous potential for harm, and I just don’t know how that plays out."
Buffett's remarks underscore the growing concerns surrounding the ethical and responsible development of AI, highlighting the need for careful consideration of its potential implications.
