By
Godfrey Benjamin
April 26th, 2024
Softacom CEO predicted that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) would be realized within the next decade.
Masayoshi Son, the founder and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp (TYO: 9984), has advised businesses in Japan to embrace the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and called for early adoption. Son delivered the statement while speaking at the recent SoftBank World corporate conference, an annual event for the company’s corporate clients in Japan.
Son’s keynote address brimmed with optimism and a sense of urgency. He highlighted the importance of Japan catching up with the rapidly advancing AI landscape, emphasizing that the nation cannot afford to squander another decade. Japan, renowned for its technological prowess, has often lagged in adopting transformative technologies, and Son sought to change that narrative by rallying local corporations.
Throughout his speech, Son reaffirmed his belief in Arm Holdings Plc (NASDAQ: ARM), the chip designer majority-owned by SoftBank, as a crucial player in the AI revolution. He regards Arm’s technology as foundational to advancing AI capabilities. Son’s conviction in Arm stems from his view that AI has the potential to reshape industries across the board, and Arm’s innovations will be at the forefront of this transformation.
Rene Haas, CEO of Arm, joined the conference via video and emphasized the energy efficiency of Arm’s chip designs. He emphasized that Arm’s technology would become increasingly sought after to power artificial intelligence systems, aligning with Son’s vision of Arm as a cornerstone of the AI revolution.
Son Forecasts Timeline for AGI Adoption
Furthermore, Son predicted that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) would be realized within the next decade. AGI represents artificial intelligence that surpasses human intelligence across nearly all domains. Son asserted that AGI would be ten times more intelligent than collective human intelligence.
Son went on to challenge the conventional belief that AI, being a creation of humans, cannot surpass human intelligence. He emphasized that AI is evolving into a self-learning, self-training, and self-inferencing entity, closely mimicking human cognitive processes.
In addition to AGI, Son introduced the idea of “Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI)” at the conference. He forecasted that ASI, which would surpass human intelligence by a factor of 10,000, could become a reality within the next 20 years. This audacious vision of the future implies a level of AI capability that transcends current human comprehension, promising unparalleled advancements in various sectors.
Son is renowned for his visionary predictions, some of which have materialized into significant technological trends. While his foresight on mobile internet has been largely validated, his outlook on the Internet of Things (IoT) has faced setbacks.
Nonetheless, his confidence in AI’s transformative potential remains unshaken, and his predictions regarding AGI and ASI have now set a clear timeline for the development of these advanced forms of Artificial Intelligence.
As Japan and the global tech community heed his call, the path to a future defined by AI’s transformative power will become increasingly clear.