The comparison of Artificial Intelligence and nuclear energy came up when Warren Buffett spoke at the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting. He shared a personal anecdote involving AI technology, describing how he suddenly came upon a video of himself that looked so much like the real thing he had been delivering a message he had never even recorded.
Warren Buffett said, “Last year I said that we let a genie out of the bottle when we, when we developed nuclear weapons, and that Genie has been doing some terrible things lately. And the power of that genie is what, you know, scares the hell out of me. And then I don’t know any way to get the genie back in the bottle. And AI is somewhat similar.”
He said, “I had one experience that does make me a little nervous, and I’ll just explain it. Fairly recently, I saw an image in front of my eyes on the screen, and it was me and it was my voice. And wearing the kind of clothes I wear. My wife or my daughter wouldn’t have been able to detect any difference. And it was delivering a message that no way came from me.”
According to Buffett, the AI’s ability to create realistic and misleading content could influence funds transfer to fraudulent accounts.
Scammers most typically use the newest developments in artificial intelligence voice cloning and deep-fake technology to deceive video and images by mimicking loved ones’ requests for money or private information.
“Obviously, AI has potential for good things too, 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 added.
AI has been on the minds of investors for more than a year, and they have been getting psychologically prepared to profit from its algorithm for future gains. Stocks such as Nvidia and Facebook (Meta Platforms) have taken a sharp turn up during the AI mania, with massive gains of 507% and 275%, respectively, since the last of the previous year.
