Latest Interview with Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank: AI Will Be 1000 Times Smarter Than Humans, Everything I Have Done in the Past Is Just a Warm-Up

In Blackstone's internal podcast, Masayoshi Son, Founder, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank, had a late-night conversation with host Kristin Anderson. He talked about his past experience of bursting into tears when seeing a photo of a microprocessor at the age of 17, his prediction of superintelligence, SoftBank's full industrial chain layout in the AI field, and why he believes AI should advance at full speed instead of slowing down. The core views can be summarized as: AI will be 1,000 times smarter than humans, which may be achieved within the next ten years; everything I have done in the past is just a warm-up; technological development itself is the solution to AI safety issues.

1. Tears at 17: Microprocessors will change the future of humanity

The interview started with Masayoshi Son's astonishing statement: "When I was 69 years old, I said that everything I had done up to that point was just a warm-up for what was coming."

The host asked: Alibaba, Yahoo, Arm, the Vision Fund, is all of this really just a warm-up?

Masayoshi Son replied: "Yes, I do think so. The changes that are about to happen in the field of artificial intelligence are truly remarkable, too huge. So everything I have done in the past is just small, trivial stuff."

He recalled his first encounter with AI: "When I was 17 years old and saw a photo of a microprocessor for the first time, I was deeply shocked. I was reading a magazine on the street, and then I started crying. Seriously, I would cry on the street just reading magazines like *Popular Electronics*."

"I said: 'This will change the future of humanity.' The microprocessor will eventually become so powerful, so smart, that it will eventually be smarter than the human brain."

He predicted that this might take 50 years. "Exactly. It's been 50 years now. I was 17 then, and I'm 69 now, so you know, 50 years."

Today, microprocessors endow the brain with powerful capabilities, and all of this is happening in data centers. "Now it is going to enter the brains of robots. So not only in the virtual world, this will also start to happen in the real world."

2. AI will be 1,000 times smarter than humans, achieved within ten years

The host mentioned that Masayoshi Son once said AI might be 10,000 times smarter than humans and that this could be achieved within ten years. Is the timeline being accelerated?

Masayoshi Son said: In any case, no matter how you define it, it is beyond doubt that artificial intelligence will be 1,000 times smarter. It will become very intelligent and start to innovate. This is a new technology in itself.

He depicted what that world would look like: "If humans are happier, they will be happier too. If humans feel happier by curing incurable diseases like cancer, ensuring that no more accidents happen on the streets, ensuring that all kinds of disasters can be controlled, and predicting upcoming natural disasters to provide us with solutions."

"So they become the surrounding environment of our brains, helping us improve efficiency, helping us become happier, and enjoy a human-like life."

Then what will be the end result of human progress? Masayoshi Son believes: "The result will be more tangled and more interesting. We don't have to do things we don't want to do. We can have more happiness, more entertainment, do more sports, participate in more family activities, and make more friends. So it is more humanized, with more high-touch things."

3. AI Safety: Do not advocate slowing down, technological development itself is the solution

The host mentioned that there has been an endless stream of recent news about AI-related risks. OpenAI itself also stated that the industry has not fully solved the problems of alignment and monitoring, and cannot continue to scale at maximum speed reasonably. Does Masayoshi Son agree?

Masayoshi Son made it clear: "I do not advocate actually slowing down. Technological development is actually the solution to this kind of problem."

He drew an analogy to the development of the automotive society: "Just like the development of the automotive society, we have made rules - we cannot drink while driving, we must stop at red lights, we must drive on one side of the road so that collisions do not happen. You have to make rules and etiquette."

"We must do the same thing for artificial intelligence. And the cyberattacks that we should not carry out, we must use technology to defend against cyberattacks. We must protect bad AI agents from misbehaving. Just like people, there should be no improper behavior."

"We must teach AI agents that these are bad things. So it is not just a powerful AI agent, we must create an excellent AI agent with a kind heart to make people happier. That is the goal that AI agents should achieve."

"In this way, it will become more intelligent, smarter, not do stupid things, not do immoral things. Human society should respect each other, like other family members. We must do the same with artificial intelligence. There is no slowing down. Progress leads to solutions."

"So we must go all out, with good intentions."

4. SoftBank's AI Layout: Do not choose a single field, build the entire ecosystem

The host asked: SoftBank has also made a lot of investments in AI infrastructure. In a sense, you are basically putting all your eggs in one basket, because your investment scope is very wide - LLM, chips, data centers. Why not choose one of these fields?

Masayoshi Son replied: "No, I won't just choose one. This is the beginning of the AI era, the beginning of the AI generation. So I don't need to run a company at the same time and be the CEO of an operating company. I can be an investor."

"I have created an ecosystem, an ecosystem made up of the companies we invest in. We make investments, we are not passive investors, we are now more involved in the development of companies, bringing synergies to the companies in our portfolio."

"Normally, we are the largest shareholder of portfolio companies, such as 20%, 30%, 80%. Therefore, we have a deeper understanding with each CEO."

He revealed that SoftBank has started mass production of robots in a physical AI factory, where robots produce robots. "We are developing these very low-key, our portfolio companies, family businesses. We have more than 30 robotics companies in our portfolio, quietly preparing for the upcoming moment."

"But there are still many humans doing heavy work, like washing dishes as I usually do. If these things are done by robots, humans can focus on doing more interesting and more wonderful things."

5. Advice for young people: Learn AI plus your professional field

The host mentioned the story of Masayoshi Son going to meet the head of McDonald's Japan when he was 16 years old, and asked what he should learn. If someone asks him what to learn today, what will the answer be?

Masayoshi Son said: "Superintelligence. If you are interested in medicine, superintelligence in the medical field greatly improves the efficiency of medicine. Superintelligence in the automotive field, if you are interested in automobiles, the combination of superintelligence and automotive technology to create a real supercar."

"So every subject, aircraft, or whatever industry you want to enter, whatever expert you want to be, the speed is accelerated. If you combine superintelligence, then the future belongs to the people who turn that subject into success."

6. Personal use: 3 hours a day, 7 hours on weekends, AI is my thinking partner

The host asked: How do you use artificial intelligence in your daily life? How would you encourage CEOs to use artificial intelligence?

Masayoshi Son said: "There are too many ways to count. I now use it for about three hours a day on workdays. On weekends, I might work seven hours a day."

"I can't live without it now. Even for a single day, I can't live without it now. It's very efficient, really exciting."

"People will say: 'Hey, you know, when AI... if you use alcohol, you don't use your brain.' On the contrary, completely the opposite. It's like having a thinking partner. When you start, you are in the middle of debates and discussions."

"If AI says this, I will say: 'Oh, but what about from this perspective? Can you make it 20% more efficient? Can you do these two things and get that result?' You can debate and brainstorm. It is my thinking partner now."

7. Advice for investors: Don't dream small, results are proportional to your dreams

The host asked: As an investor, what should you really think about? What aspects would you advise people to pay attention to?

Masayoshi Son said: "As an investor, my advice is: Stop thinking about short-term small capital. Aim high. Results are proportional to your dreams."

"If your dream is so small, if your wish is so small, you can still get 70% of the achievement. If the wish is so big, the dream is also so big, you can still get 70% of the achievement. So no matter how big your wish or dream is, you can't get 100% that easily. On average, you can get a score of 70%. Why not look to the future and think big?"

He revealed his way of thinking: "In my meetings, every day we are discussing what will happen in the next ten years, our plans, our strategies. The next day, we make revisions. 'Hey, what will it look like in ten years?' The next day we come again."

"So people will say: 'What? Will there really be such a big change?' I say 'Yes', because within 24 hours we will receive more new information, more thinking. We need to make a lot of adjustments."

"No one knows exactly what will happen in 10 years. So we have to think. People will say: 'Oh, 10 years from now... no one knows, so let's not think about it. Let's think about next year.' I think the opposite. If you don't know what will happen in 10 years, don't give up thinking about it. Think, think, think."

8. Personal life: Married for 50 years, interpersonal relationships are very important

The host asked: You have been married for 50 years, experienced all the ups and downs, how has this relationship helped your success?

Masayoshi Son said: "Interpersonal relationships are very important. You must respect others, you must love others. You must think this matter is very important."

When asked if he would let ChatGPT select the starting lineup for SoftBank Hawks, Masayoshi Son made it clear: "No, that's our general manager's job. He has the capabilities and trust of many team members. That's also part of the fun, it's not just something that's carefully planned."

9. Schwarzman's summary: He plays everything, but success far outweighs setbacks

After the conversation, Steve Schwarzman, Chairman of Blackstone, shared his views on Masayoshi Son:

"He has the vision to see the future. This is unusual because most people don't do that. He has always been like this, he is very focused on technology, and he has the ability to see what commercial value a technology can bring if it falls into the right hands."

"He is basically waiting for the time to see who will come to develop this project, and then he puts all his belongings on the line. All the chips are on the table. Sometimes, if he gets more and more chips because of success, that could be his chance to win the game. He will try to play the same game in different ways, just as he is doing now across the entire AI ecosystem."

"He plays everything. And over time, he has had far more successes than setbacks. But he has both, and he is extremely adaptable. Setbacks don't bother him as much as they bother other people, because he is very aligned with the theme. If he believes in something, he knows it will happen. His timing is not always perfect, but he doesn't care. So he is really bold."

Schwarzman also shared his views on the future of AI: "You will have real changes across the entire healthcare industry. It will extend the lifespan of many people. You will be able to get personalized education, and anyone with a smartphone can get tailored, excellent education."

Dramatic and major changes will not come as quickly as some people imagine. Its development is an evolutionary process. But when all is said and done, this will be part of a major step forward. Although it is complex, it will ultimately be beneficial to humanity.

Conclusion

This conversation shows Masayoshi Son's extreme optimism about the future of AI and his all-in bet. From bursting into tears at the sight of a microprocessor at 17, to saying at 69 that everything in the past was just a warm-up, he has always believed that technology is the fundamental solution to human problems. In his view, AI will be 1,000 times smarter than humans, which may be achieved within ten years; we should not slow down, but go all out, while integrating good intentions into the system; and SoftBank is building an ecosystem covering the entire AI industry chain, quietly preparing for the arrival of that moment.

As he said: "Results are proportional to your dreams. If your dream is so small, you can still get 70% of the achievement. If the dream is so big, you can still get 70% of the achievement. Why not look to the future and think big?"

This article is from the WeChat official account "AIGC Index", author: Mark, published with authorization from 36Kr.