The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
‘Artificial intelligence will overtake human IQ in 30 yrs’
SOFTBANK CEO AT MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS
SOFTBANK FOUNDER and CEO Masayoshi Son on Monday outlined his vision for artificial intelligence and said computers running AI programs will exceed human intelligence within three decades. Delivering a keynote address at the Mobile World Congress here, Son said he expects one computer chip to have the equivalent of 10,000 IQ within this period.
“In the past 2,000 years, the hardware in our brains has not improved... In the next 30 years, AI will overtake human intelligence,” he said.
Son added that with the strong growth seen for Internet of Things (IOT), the number of embedded chips that are recording and transforming data into something useful will top “one trillion”.
Son joked that even a pair of sneakers will have more computing power than a person. He said the number of “brain cells” in chips would surpass the number of human brain neurons in 2018, openingupahugeopportunityfor smart and connected objects.
“This is why I spent $32 billion to acquire ARM,” Son said, explaining his 30-year-vision of a world where the artificial computerbrainwillhave10,000intelligence quotient (IQ) capabilities compared with 100 for the average human.
Theinternetofthingsisaterm used to describe a network of devices other than computers and smartphones that are connected totheinternetandcancollectand exchange data.
This belief in the potential of superintelligent robots becoming mainstay is also one of the reasons for Son establishing the world’s biggest VC fund of $100 billion to invest in new age technology firms.
Softbank has committed to investing $10 billion over the next few years in India. It has already invested in Indian startups like Ola, Snapdeal, Oyo and Grofers.
Faced with a secular decline in average revenue per user (ARPU) and a smartphone market only expected to grow by 5 percent in the coming years, Son stressed the need for mobile operators to invest in new technology.
Son and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund have created a technology investment fund that could grow as large as $100 billion and become a kingpin in the high-tech industry.
The Japanese businessman also predicted that by 2040 there would be an army of 10 billion smart robots making human lives easier. But these advances won’t come without risks and addressing cybersecurity issues will have to be part of the equation, he said.
“There are about 500 ARM chips in a car today and none of them are secure,” said Son, predicting that 64 per cent of cyber attacks will be through hacking connected objects.