Masayoshi Son's latest declaration at SoftBank's shareholder meeting has that classic mix of visionary flair and eyebrow-raising audacity – aiming to crown his empire as the top platform for artificial super intelligence (ASI) in just a decade. For the uninitiated, ASI isn't your garden-variety chatbot; Son envisions it as an AI powerhouse that's 10,000 times smarter than the average human brain, solving problems we can't even dream up yet. It's like upgrading from a bicycle to a warp-speed spaceship, but with the potential to zoom past ethical guardrails if we're not careful.
What I find intriguing is how Son draws parallels to the 'winner-takes-all' club of Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. Sure, those giants dominate because they built ecosystems that lock in users and devs alike, but applying that to ASI? It could accelerate innovation by funneling resources into one super-platform, potentially democratizing god-like computing power. Imagine startups plugging into SoftBank's ASI hub like apps on an app store – efficient, right? But let's get pragmatic: monopolies in super-smart AI might squash competition, leading to a few overlords dictating our digital future. And given Son's track record – Alibaba goldmine one day, WeWork dumpster fire the next – this feels like betting the farm on a horse that's still learning to gallop.
His 'all-in' on OpenAI, with a whopping $32 billion committed and eyes on an IPO, underscores the shift. Snapping up Ampere for chip muscle adds hardware heft to the software dreams. It's bold, pro-innovation stuff that could turbocharge AI's role in everything from drug discovery to climate fixes. Yet, humor me: if ASI hits 10,000x human smarts, will it still need SoftBank's help, or will it just politely suggest Son take a vacation? As techno-enthusiasts, we should cheer the push forward while questioning the risks – how do we ensure this superintelligence serves humanity, not just shareholders? Time to think critically: is this the dawn of collaborative AI utopia, or a high-stakes poker game where the house might rig the deck? Source: SoftBank aims to become top ‘artificial super intelligence’ platform provider
