Masayoshi Son: "AI Will Account for 20% of Global GDP by 2040"

Remarks at SoftBank's Annual Event in Japan
Sharp Criticism for AI Skeptics: "Spitting Upwards"
"Complacent CEOs Should Settle for a Spousal Role"

Masayoshi Son, Chairman of SoftBank Group, strongly criticized artificial intelligence (AI) skeptics, saying that they were "spitting upwards," a Korean idiom meaning self-defeating behavior. He also used tough language, telling business leaders who are not prepared to become number one in their industry through AI technology to simply play a "spousal role."

SoftBank Group Chairman Masayoshi Son is speaking at the annual Tokyo event on the 14th. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

According to foreign media outlets such as the Financial Times (FT), Son said at the SoftBank annual event held in Tokyo on the 14th, "People who dislike AI are refusing to evolve," adding, "It's like spitting upwards—you're just spitting on your own face." He emphasized that disliking AI today is no different from disliking cars or airplanes in modern society.

He went on to say that "modest presidents" who are not ready to adopt AI technology in order to become number one in their industry within 15 years should be content with a "spousal role." He added, "The most important thing a president should say is 'AI, AI, AI.'"

Son predicted that by 2040, the scale of the economy generated by AI will account for 20% (46 trillion dollars) of the world's gross domestic product (GDP). He also projected annual profits of 23 trillion dollars. To achieve this, Son estimated that, by 2040, the global power demand for data centers would reach 3 terawatts (TW), which is about one-third of the current total global power generation capacity.

As a solution to cope with this explosive increase in data center power demand, he proposed nuclear fusion. He stated, "Nuclear fusion will become a newer, cheaper, cleaner, and safer energy source on Earth," and argued, "I believe fusion will replace (gas power generation) within 15 years."

However, Bloomberg pointed out that there remain technical and financial challenges before nuclear fusion becomes a practical energy source. While nuclear fusion is promising, it is also a highly complex technology. According to Bloomberg, only a few countries have secured the fundamental technology so far.

SoftBank has been making large-scale investments in companies like Arm and OpenAI, as well as in data centers, semiconductors, and robotics, in a bid to become a key player in the AI era. Recently, the company also participated in a 33 billion dollar gas-fired power plant project in Ohio, USA.

However, FT pointed out that there are growing market concerns about SoftBank's debt burden and the possibility of delays in OpenAI's initial public offering. While SoftBank's share price has risen 35% so far this year, it has weakened after hitting a peak last month.

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