Warren Buffett compares AI to nuclear weapons in stark warning

Warren Buffett is worried about artificial intelligence.

Warren Buffett is worried about artificial intelligence. At his annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, the 93 year-old co-founder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway issued a stark warning about the potential dangers of the technology. “We let a genie out of the bottle when we developed nuclear weapons,” he said Saturday. “AI is somewhat similar — it’s part way out of the bottle.” The so-called Oracle of Omaha acknowledged to his audience that he has little idea about the tech behind AI, but said he still fears its potential repercussions. His image and voice were recently replicated by an AI-backed tool, he said, and they were so convincing that they could have fooled his own family. Scams using these deep fakes, he added, will likely become increasingly prevalent. “If I was interested in investing in scamming, it’s going to be the growth industry of all time,” he told the crowd. Berkshire Hathaway has started employing some AI in its own business to make employees more efficient, said Greg Abel, the expected successor to Buffett who runs Berkshire’s non-insurance operations, on Saturday.