[TOKYO] Softbank Group founder Masayoshi Son and Openai chief Sam Altman see the insatiable demand (AI) for artificial intelligence (AI), where maintaining more computing power is essential.
The two business partners speaking through communications at SoftBank World claimed that moving forward with AI will lead to new jobs that have yet to be imagined, and that advances in robotics will help launch a “self-improvement” loop.
“As we cut the costs of AI, more people want to use it,” Altman said in response to his son's question about a decline in returns from further expansion. “So, if you make the AI cost ten times cheaper, people want to use it 30 times or anything. And the global intelligence demand seems to be huge.”
In front of an audience of Japanese business and enterprise leaders, the themes of their conversations were primarily about innovation in self-replication. Altman mentioned robots that could build other robots, and his son was heavily leaning towards the idea that AI agents would learn independently and create new things to increase productivity. He hopes to deploy 1 billion AI agents within the SoftBank group this year and design an operating system for them.
In February, his son announced a 50-50 venture between SoftBank's telecom unit and Openai, highlighting his commitment to supporting the AI efforts of ChATGPT operators. The venture sells enterprise AI products called Cristal Intelligence to local industries, from automakers to retailers. Softbank's group employs tools from US startups and spends USD 3 billion a year on these services.
My son's involvement in OpenAI is far beyond corporate clients. Softbank said it would invest US$30 billion in a US company. This is a plan that requires Openai to rebuild its complex operational structure. His son also worked with Altman for the US$500 billion Stargate project to build data centers and other AI infrastructure.
“When we think about future scaling, we'll need more than 10 gigawatts, new technology and new construction,” Altman told Son. Neither executives addressed the challenges associated with providing energy to such large-scale projects. It also had no potential drawbacks if expectations for runaway demand were not fully realized.
Softbank stock raised 38% in June with its best performance in 20 years when shareholders supported their son's bold plans and aggressive spending. However, stocks continue to trade at a discount on the company's total assets, reduced by risks arising from complex financing plans. Bloomberg
