"This Isn't Investing, the Market Is Just a Casino"... Buffett, Who Amassed $590 Billion in Cash, Issues a Stern Warning

"There has never been a time when people were so caught up in gambling psychology"
'AI Warren' unveiled to warn about cybercrime

Warren Buffett, age 96, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and known as the "Oracle of Omaha," has issued a warning that the current securities market is "close to a casino."

After the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting held in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 2 (local time), Chairman Buffett stated in an interview with CNBC, a leading U.S. business media outlet, "The gambling frenzy has reached its peak." He remarked, "There has never been a time when people were so caught up in gambling psychology," comparing the stock market to "a church with a casino attached."

Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, attending the annual shareholders meeting. Screenshot from CNBC YouTube.

Chairman Buffett identified short-term options trading and prediction markets as examples of gambling-like investments. Short-term options refer to options products with 0 to 5 days left until expiration, where investors must bet by predicting global events that may impact the stock market or oil prices. According to global derivatives exchange CME Group, short-term options trading surged by 120% last year compared to the previous year.

Prediction markets, where people place bets on the outcomes of various events happening around the world, also share similar characteristics. Chairman Buffett said, "If you trade one-day options, it's neither investment nor speculation. It's gambling," and added, "Unless you already know what will happen, there is no logical reason to buy one-day options, and the scale and speed of this phenomenon are unprecedented."

Since last year, Chairman Buffett has been accumulating cash-equivalent assets while leading Berkshire. According to Berkshire's earnings report released that day, as of the end of March, cash-equivalent assets, including short-term Treasury bonds, totaled $397 billion (about 595 trillion won), the highest level in history. Regarding this, Chairman Buffett emphasized, "Now is not an ideal environment for investing."

Deepfake video of Chairman Buffett created by Berkshire using artificial intelligence (AI). CNBC YouTube

Meanwhile, Chairman Buffett surprised the audience by unveiling the so-called "AI Warren," a version of himself created using artificial intelligence (AI). During the shareholders meeting, a video was shown on screen featuring Buffett in a suit conversing with Berkshire CEO Greg Abel. Abel then explained, "The video you just saw is a result of deepfake technology, created solely with publicly available online data, without ever directly inputting Warren's voice or photographs."

It was reported that AI Warren was presented as part of an event to warn shareholders about the dangers of cybercrime. CEO Abel stated, "One of the greatest risks we have to manage daily is cyber risk," and added, "AI can be used as a tool for malicious attacks, and today's video demonstrates just how close such dangers are to us."

From the audience, Chairman Buffett, who watched AI Warren on the screen, said, "The video we just saw is truly frightening."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.