SoftBank’s Masayoshi son switches to ‘attack’ in AI Race

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For months, Masayoshi Son, the eloquent founder and CEO of SoftBank, remained silent as his technology conglomerate struggled with massive investment losses.

But as the world rushes to embrace artificial intelligence – something that has long fascinated him – Mr. Son used his company’s annual shareholders’ meeting on Wednesday in public, and memorable, repeat his bet to become a leader in cutting-edge technology.

“We are ready to switch to attack mode,” Mr. Son told investors and analysts, adding, “I want SoftBank to lead the AI revolution.” Reviving the kind of grand presentations he has long favored – who can the “valley of coronavirus” slide in 2020, with flying unicorns? — the SoftBank chief began by asking: “What is Humanity?”

The answer, apparently, is something that can take advantage of the technology behind chatbots, which has already fueled an investment boom. (To be fair, the potential of AI was one of the central tenets behind SoftBank’s first $100 billion Vision Fund.)

“When your grandchildren are our age, I believe they will live in a reality where the computer is 10,000 times smarter than the sum of all human wisdom,” he said Wednesday. SoftBank would fit, he added, as “an architect to build humanity’s future.”

Technology industry leaders have warned that AI systems could one day pose an existential threat to humanity and have called for an international watchdog to regulate AI technology.

Mr. Son argues that SoftBank is facing better days. While the company’s Vision Funds have suffered major paper losses amid the decimation of start-up valuations, he said SoftBank had since amassed more than $35 billion in cash in “defense mode” and was ready to invest it. (The company will also benefit from the upcoming IPO of Arm, the chip designer it owns.)

And Mr. Son said he was excited again, after lying low last year. “There were times when I felt so empty,” he told investors. “‘Is this enough? Is this it?’ I cried and cried and couldn’t stop crying for days.” Now he added, “I’m having too much fun.”