OMAHA, Nebraska (AP) — Billionaire Warren Buffett said artificial intelligence can change the world but new technology won’t take away opportunities for investors and said he was confident the United States would maintain prosperity despite its political divisions.
Buffet and his partner Charlie Munger spent all of Saturday answering questions during their conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting of shareholders in a packed arena in Omaha.
“The arrival of new things does not take away the opportunities. It’s the stupid things other people do that give you opportunities,” said Buffett, who had the opportunity to try out ChatGPT with his friend Bill Gates a few months ago.
“The problem now is that partisanship has veered more towards tribalism, and in tribalism nobody listens to the other party,” he said.
Both Buffett and Munger asserted that the United States will benefit from having an open trade relationship with China. Both countries must be careful not to exacerbate tensions because the dangers are enormous for the world.
“Everything that exacerbates tensions between the two countries is stupid, stupid, stupid,” Munger said.
The chance to hear legendary investors answer questions about business and life draws people from all over the world to Buffett’s hometown. Some shareholders feel a particular urgency to attend because both characters are in their 90s.
“Charlie Munger, he is 99 years old. He wanted to see it in person. He was on my to-do list in life,” said Sheraton Wu, 40, of Vancouver. “I must attend while I can.”
Chloe Lin flew in from Singapore for what she described as “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Both capitalists addressed a variety of issues, including:
— Buffett said that banking authorities should find a way to punish executives and board members whose risky decisions cause the demise of a bank.
— The United States is saddled with a worrying level of debt, but it’s hard to know how much longer it can take without devaluing the dollar or jeopardizing the world‘s reserve currency.
— Elon Musk is a brilliant man who has undertaken tasks and succeeded even when he “overestimates himself”. But his approach doesn’t appeal to investors looking for places where they can prosper without exorbitant effort, according to Buffett and Munge.
“We are different,” Munger said. “Warren and I look for the easy job that we can identify.”
— To avoid the biggest mistakes in life, Buffett said, “you have to write your obituary and figure out how to live up to it.” There is no need to get into debt either and in business risks so great that a single mistake can annihilate you must be avoided”.
— Munger gave similar simple advice: Spend less than you earn, avoid toxic people and activities, and keep learning all your life.
In a nod to longstanding concerns about his age, Berkshire showed video clips that included questions about his succession and were from previous meetings dating back to the first one they filmed in 1994. Two years ago, Buffett finally said that Greg Abel will replace him as Berkshire’s CEO although he has no plans to retire.