Warren Buffett Compares AI To Atomic Bombs — One Of His Biggest Fears

• Warren Buffett likened AI to building an atomic bomb at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting.
• Buffett has long spoken about the horrors surrounding nuclear war.
• A legendary investor said AI could “change everything in the world except the way humans think and act.”

Warren Buffett has likened artificial intelligence to building an atomic bomb, becoming the latest prominent business figure to sound the alarm about the rapid advancement of technology.

Speaking at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting, Buffett was skeptical of AI’s ability to replace humans, but he also recognized how much technology could already achieve.

While noting the limitations of current technology, such as the inability to tell a convincing joke, he said:

“We invented the atomic bomb for a very good reason. And in World War II, what we invented was very important. Is it good for the world’s next 200 years? Unleashed?”

Buffett paraphrased Albert Einstein’s quote after the splitting of the atom that led to the creation of the atomic bomb. Einstein pointed out that the atomic bomb “changed everything except our mode of thinking.”

“With AI, we can change everything in the world except the way humans think and act. That’s a big step,” concludes Buffett.

Buffett has long been a strong opponent of nuclear weapons and stresses the importance of comparing them to AI. He has made several comments about its danger over the decades and would give all his money to reduce the chances of an attack if he knew how.

In an April interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, the “Omaha sage” said the prospect of another pandemic or nuclear war kept him awake at night more than the success of Berkshire Hathaway.

Buffett’s comments follow the resignation of the so-called “Godfather of AI” from Google last week. Geoffrey Hinton told his New York Times about his concern that it’s too late for technological excess to rule.

In an interview with Reuters, Hinton said the threat of AI to the world could be more pressing than climate change.

Read Insider’s coverage of Berkshire Hathaway’s annual conference here.