SoftBank's Masayoshi Son Predicts AI Revolution: Superintelligence Within a Decade

SoftBank's Masayoshi Son Predicts Artificial Superintelligence Within A Decade After Testing OpenAI's 'Strawberry' Models - Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), ARM Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM)

Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank Group SFTBF SFTBY, has forecasted the advent of artificial superintelligence within the next ten years. This revelation was shared during the SoftBank World 2024 conference. What Happened: Son, Japan's second wealthiest individual, commended OpenAI for its recent technological strides. He specifically mentioned the new GPT-o1 models, codenamed "Strawberry," which he believes have developed reasoning capabilities, reported the Observer on Friday. "This technology will evolve to a point where your happiness will be its greatest reward," said Son. He claimed that ASI, which would be 10,000 times more powerful than human intelligence, could be achieved within a decade. Son envisions a future where AI can perform everyday tasks, such as grocery shopping and investment management, ultimately enhancing human happiness. His optimistic outlook is consistent with his history of making bold tech investments. Looking forward, Son anticipates the achievement of artificial general intelligence, which matches human intelligence, within two to three years. He also predicts artificial superintelligence, surpassing human capabilities, within a decade. SoftBank's AI strategy is centered around ARM Holdings ARM, a U.K.-based chip designer, with plans to expand into AI chips, data centers, and industrial robots. See Also: Tech YouTuber MKBHD Responds After Facing Massive Backlash Over His New $12 A Month Wallpaper App Why It Matters: Son's prediction comes amid growing interest in A.I. advancements, particularly with OpenAI's "Strawberry" models. These models are noted for their human-like reasoning capabilities, which could revolutionize various industries. However, SoftBank's ambitions to rival NVIDIA Corp NVDA in A.I. chip production reportedly faced setbacks when talks with Intel Corp INTC fell through. Despite this, SoftBank is exploring partnerships with other manufacturers like Taiwan Semiconductor TSM. Additionally, Son's focus on AI aligns with Sam Altman's commitment to developing artificial general intelligence, regardless of the financial cost. This shared vision underscores the significant investments and strategic shifts occurring in the A.I. sector. Interestingly, SoftBank's past decision to sell its Nvidia shares in 2019 resulted in a missed opportunity, as those shares would now be approximately worth over $150 billion. This highlights the high stakes and rapid evolution of the AI and tech investment landscape. Read Next: OpenAI's SearchGPT Set To Disrupt Google's Search Empire As Former Engineer Sounds Alarm On Deteriorating User Experience Amid Rising Competition Image Via Shutterstock This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Kaustubh Bagalkote Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

SoftBank's Masayoshi Son Says A.I. Will Soon Be 10,000 Times Smarter Than Humans

Artificial superintelligence could be achieved within a decade, according to billionaire Masayoshi Son. ChatGPT-maker OpenAI is flush with cash, thanks to the likes of Masayoshi Son's SoftBank (SFTBF). The Japanese conglomerate chipped in $500 million during a recent funding round that valued the Sam Altman-led company at a staggering $157 billion. Announced yesterday (Oct. 2) and led by Thrive Capital, the $6.6 billion round also drew in A.I.-focused companies like Microsoft (MSFT) and Nvidia (NVDA) and investment firms such as Tiger Global Management, ARK Invest and Altimeter Capital. Sign Up For Our Daily Newsletter Sign Up Thank you for signing up! By clicking submit, you agree to our <a href="http://observermedia.com/terms">terms of service</a> and acknowledge we may use your information to send you emails, product samples, and promotions on this website and other properties. You can opt out anytime. See all of our newsletters Son didn't directly address his investment while speaking today (Oct. 3) at the SoftBank World 2024 conference. But he praised OpenAI and the capabilities of the company's recently released GPT-o1 A.I. models, codenamed "Strawberry," describing them as having "developed the ability to think." Son said he recently tested out the reasoning model by asking it a series of difficult questions, such as how to increase his savings account to 100 million Japanese yen ($681,000), and was impressed by its answers. Son, currently the second richest person in Japan, is estimated to be worth $31.4 billion. A.I. is on track to become even more powerful in the near future, Son said. His vision for A.I. includes personal agents that will be able to conduct a variety of everyday tasks, ranging from grocery shopping and making reservations to aiding in investments and monitoring the health of family members. "This technology will evolve to a point where your happiness will be its greatest reward," said Son, adding that human happiness will be the "greatest reward" for personal agents. Such comments aren't out of character for Son, who is known for his unrelenting optimism when it comes technological developments. This attitude has caused SoftBank's Vision Funds to make ambitious tech bets that typically realize either major gains or losses. During the dot-com crash, for example, SoftBank lost some $170 billion on its internet investments. Son also infamously shed some $14 billion after backing the now-bankrupt WeWork. While Son spent the past few years laying low following a series of losses, he told investors last year that SoftBank was going on "offense mode" and was preparing to invest heavily in A.I., having amassed more than $35 billion since 2020. According to Son, A.I.'s developments will come fast and furious. Artificial general intelligence (A.G.I), a type of A.I. that matches the intelligence of humans, will come to fruition in the next two to three years, Son said at today's event. And artificial superintelligence, (A.S.I.), which is 10,000 times more capable than humans, can be expected to be achieved in a decade, he claimed. Noting that the human brain consists of some 100 trillion synaptic connections, referring to points where neurons communicate with each other, Son said that "generative A.I.'s parameters -- which are equivalent to these synapses -- are growing at a furious pace." (GPT-4 reportedly has about 1.7 trillion parameters.) To take advantage of the technology's potential, the SoftBank CEO has ambitious plans to turn his conglomerate into an A.I. powerhouse. SoftBank's A.I. strategy is currently anchored by Arm, a U.K.-based chip designer it acquired for $32 billion in 2016. Son has previously laid out his desire to eventually establish a variety of A.I.-focused divisions within SoftBank, complete with sectors dedicated to A.I. chips, data centers and even industrial robots. Besides SoftBank's recent backing of OpenAI, the conglomerate in 2024 alone has also invested in Perplexity AI, an A.I.-powered search startup, and acquired Graphcore, a chipmaker and Nvidia rival.

SoftBank's Son envisions AI running households in the next few years

SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son sketched out one of the most aggressive timelines for the adoption of artificial intelligence yet, envisioning a near future where the technology would run entire households. AI will soon be able to monitor the health of family members, call the doctor when needed, do grocery shopping, make reservations, judge optimal investments and tutor young children, Son said in a speech at an annual forum for enterprise clients on Thursday. He moved up his expectation for when artificial general intelligence -- the long-term goal for developers from OpenAI to Meta Platforms and Alphabet's Google -- would arrive to within the next two to three years. Son heads up Japan's biggest tech investor and has made hundreds of bets on startups and companies developing new technologies and services powered by AI. His rosy view of the technology's potential has, in past years, come with a warning to skeptics that they may be left behind if they do not embrace the coming revolution in how humanity lives and works. "We can design AI personal agents who understand your emotions and whose greatest reward is your happiness," Son said. "Artificial superintelligence is something that wants you to be happy." The 67-year-old's comments underline his willingness to keep investing billions of dollars in the field. SoftBank, which is sitting on a formidable cash pile, is contributing $500 million to OpenAI's $6.6 billion fundraising round that values the startup at $157 billion. Son did not mention the investment during his speech, but he praised OpenAI's latest ChatGPT model, called 01, and its ability to process information to mimic human reasoning. The SoftBank chief said he asked the model difficult questions, hoping to stump the AI, but got good responses within 45 seconds. His queries included how he can increase his savings account to ¥100 million ($680,000) and how to extend the range of electric car batteries. "The human brain consists of some 100 trillion synaptic connections, and that number won't change -- while generative AI is creating new synapses at a furious pace," Son said. A reasoning AI will need to be able to talk and negotiate with others when conducting complex tasks like settling on a price for a service or making sure the bath is full and at the user's desired temperature at the right time, Son said. All that will drive the need for more connectivity and require more chips using technology from SoftBank's Arm Holdings, he added. SoftBank plans to further invest in AI semiconductors, data centers and robots, while also helping to build out Japan's AI ecosystem. The company's telecom unit has announced plans to build data centers in both northern and central Japan, and was early to secure a stockpile of Nvidia graphic processing units shortly after the chip company launched its Grace and Hopper architectures in 2022. One of Son's plans is to deploy $100 billion into AI-related chips, Bloomberg reported in February. The billionaire warned shareholders in June that his next big endeavor could be a massive hit or a terrible flop, but that SoftBank had no choice but to try. Following a string of losses on startup bets, a humbled Son has largely shied away from the spotlight to focus on chip unit Arm. The Tokyo-based tech investment firm remains saddled with hundreds of loss-making startups on its books. The majority of that portfolio is made up of non-listed young companies, looking to Son for guidance to navigate a fast-changing tech landscape.

AI seen running households within years, SoftBank founder says By Proactive Investors

Proactive Investors - Artificial intelligence (AI) could be running entire households in the space of just a few years, SoftBank (TYO:9984) founder Masayoshi Son has predicted. Whether it's buying groceries, tutoring children or monitoring health, Son on Thursday forecast artificial general intelligence, capable of such processes, would hit households within two to three years. Such models have become a long-term goal for developers, with Son hailing OpenAI's latest 01 ChatGPT model's ability to mimic human reasoning during a speech to clients. "The human brain consists of some 100 trillion synaptic connections, and that number won't change," he said. "Generative AI is creating new synapses at a furious pace." According to Son, the OpenAI bot gave good responses within 45 seconds when queried on the likes of increasing savings or extending electric car ranges. Similar complex tasks could stretch to other household uses, such as filling users' bathtubs at the right time, he noted. "We can design AI personal agents who understand your emotions and whose greatest reward is your happiness." "Artificial superintelligence is something that wants you to be happy." His comments came after SoftBank emerged as a backer in OpenAI's latest US$6.6 billion (£5 billion) funding round. SoftBank has reportedly drawn up plans to pump US$100 billion into AI chips, with Son noting the new models would require more of these, including those reliant on technology from subsidiary Arm Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:ARM).

SoftBank Group CEO Says Artificial General Intelligence to Be Achieved in Two to Three Years

TOKYO--SoftBank Group Chief Executive Masayoshi Son reiterated his bullish forecasts for artificial intelligence in a speech Thursday that stressed advances made by OpenAI. OpenAI raised $6.6 billion in a recent round of new funding that included a $500 million investment by SoftBank, according to a person familiar with the matter. Son said he believed artificial general intelligence, in which computers have human-level cognitive abilities, would be achieved in two to three years. He reiterated that he believes "artificial super intelligence," in which computers have 10,000 times the intelligence of humans, will be achieved within a decade. "A gold rush of intelligence has arrived. The one who goes fastest will win," Son said at SoftBank World 2024, a conference organized by his company. He praised OpenAI's recently introduced o1, a series of models designed to spend more time thinking before they respond. Such models "have developed the ability to think," Son said. He said he got up early Monday morning and asked the AI program how to turn 10 million yen into 100 million yen. He said the program took 75 seconds to give an answer, but he didn't say what it was. News Corp, owner of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, has a content-licensing partnership with OpenAI.

SoftBank's Son Envisions AI Running Households in Next Few Years

SoftBank Group Corp. founder Masayoshi Son sketched out one of the most aggressive timelines for the adoption of artificial intelligence yet, envisioning a near future where the technology would run entire households. AI will soon be able to monitor the health of family members, call the doctor when needed, do grocery shopping, make reservations, judge optimal investments and tutor young children, Son said in a speech at an annual forum for enterprise clients on Thursday. He moved up his expectation for when artificial general intelligence -- the long-term goal for developers from OpenAI to Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google -- would arrive to within the next two to three years.