Softbank’s CEO says the company’s aim is to create ‘artificial superintelligence’.
Masayoshi Son, founder and CEO of Japanese investment conglomerate SoftBank, believes artificial intelligence (AI) will be one to 10 times smarter than humans by 2030 and 10,000 times smarter by 2035.
Son's comments came at SoftBank's annual meeting in Tokyo on June 21. There, he addressed employees in an emotional speech outlining the company's priorities.
Artificial super intelligence
The main takeaway from Son's comments seems to be that SoftBank is dedicated to developing “artificial super-intelligence” (ASI) that could enhance human life as we know it.
During the talk, Son discussed Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and ASI. According to the CEO of SoftBank, the difference between the two is that the AGI system shows the equivalent of human “genius” by a factor of up to 10X.
ASI, on the other hand, would have 10,000 times the intelligence, or ability, of a human—seemingly far beyond the limited capacity of the human brain.
He notes that there is currently no scientific consensus on what AGI or ASI would be useful for, or if such an entity would be possible with current technology. Until now, AI systems capable of human-level reasoning remain theoretical.
Stock market reaction
Son continued to talk about SoftBank's future and his own demise, as the company saw its stock drop more than three percent at the close of the Tokyo Stock Exchange after the meeting.
In a video of the event shown by Cointelegraph, Son said two years ago he realized he was “aging” and wanted to do more with his life before passing away.
He added:
“What was SoftBank founded for? Masa Wold was born for what purpose? It may sound strange, but I think I was born to realize ASI. I am very passionate about it.
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