Warren Buffett says one question posed by AI has stumped economists for a century

Warren Buffett is the first to admit he doesn’t know much about artificial intelligence. That’s in keeping with his long-time philosophy of steering clear of technology that is beyond his grasp. His massive stake in Apple, for example, his largest stock holding even if it’s been reduced, came about more as an epiphany related to its consumer success than as a technology bet, he said over the weekend at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. But at the closely watched event in Omaha this year, the billionaire investor and Berkshire CEO and chairman couldn’t avoid AI as a topic on the minds of shareholders.

Buffett fielded several questions about artificial intelligence. Calling AI profound, Buffet said that the technology is like a “genie” — once it gets let out of the bottle, it could have disastrous effects. The worst fears he sees — massive scamming ability enabled by AI to the threat of a breakthrough science equivalent to nuclear weapons in unintended consequences and risk to humanity. And there is at least one question, Buffett said, that no one can answer when it comes to AI’s impact on the world which may change the lives of every individual on a daily basis. It’s a question, he said, that has riddled the best economists for a century.

“It can create an enormous amount of leisure time,” Buffett said. “Now what the world does with leisure time is another question. ... I know an awful lot of people think when they go to work at first what they want is leisure time – and what I like is actually having more problems to solve,” said Buffett, who is famous for having said he has “tap danced” to work in his Omaha office for decades.