Already at this year’s shareholder meeting – and on other occasions – Berkshire Hathaway Vice President Charlie Munger showed that he is skeptical about the potential of AI technology. He made it clear at a conference that nothing has changed in his opinion since then.
• Munger spoke about AI at the “Zoomtopia” conference
• Criticism of excessive AI hype
• Munger: AI useful, but basically nothing new
Since the release of the chatbot ChatGPT at the end of 2022, a real hype has developed around the topic of artificial intelligence (AI). Companies like Microsoft and the Alphabet subsidiary Google are investing large amounts of money to stay on top of the AI trend.
But not everyone in the financial world sees great potential in the new technology. Investor Charlie Munger, for example, has never made a secret of the fact that he doesn’t like the current hype about AI. “Personally, I’m skeptical about the hype that exists in the area of artificial intelligence. I think old-fashioned intelligence works pretty well,” he said at this year’s Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting. He also doesn’t believe that the technology can do everything that is expected, for example being able to cure cancer. The last few weeks and months have apparently done nothing to overturn the skeptical attitude of the Buffett confidant. This was recently made clear at a conference hosted by Zoom.
Charlie Munger: AI is not new
As Fortune reports, Berkshire Hathaway’s vice chairman was asked about his opinion on AI at the Zoomtopia conference on October 3rd and 4th. Munger made it clear that he still does not consider the technology to be the next big thing. “I think she’s getting a huge amount of hype. And I think she’s probably getting more out of it than she deserves,” said the veteran investor.
One explanation for Munger’s lack of enthusiasm for AI could be that he doesn’t see anything really new in the technology. “We’ve always had artificial intelligence, where software creates more software,” he explained, pointing out that AI has its roots in the 1950s and has therefore been around for a long time.
But despite all the skepticism and criticism of the current hype, Munger also said, according to Fortune, that AI is “of course very useful” and that the latest breakthroughs in this area are “very important” – just not as important as the billion-dollar investments suggest and it is accepted on the market.
Warren Buffett is also skeptical about AI
Charlie Munger is not alone with his opinion. His business partner Warren Buffett has also been critical of artificial intelligence in the past. He was particularly concerned about the potential impact of generative AIs like ChatGPT on society and warned that they cannot be made uninvented again. However, according to Fortune, the legendary investor also admitted that AI, and generative AI in particular, is something he doesn’t understand. Based on statements from Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, it is unlikely that Berkshire Hathaway will invest in this technology in the near future.
Editorial team finanzen.net
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