Masayoshi Son: 'I Cannot Live a Day Without AI now. On weekends I use it about 7 hours a day'
SoftBank's Masayoshi Son says he can't live a day without AI and uses it 7 hours on weekends. Is AI making us think less? He says the opposite.
Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group, says AI has become essential to his daily work. He rejects the view that AI reduces thinking and calls the effect the opposite.
AI in Daily Use
Son said he cannot live without AI. He described it as highly productive and exciting. He uses AI for about 3 hours on a typical day. On weekends, he uses it for about 7 hours a day. His use consists of talking with AI, asking questions, and refining answers through repeated iteration.
Response to the Claim That AI Weakens Thinking
Some people argue that using AI means people stop using their brains. Son rejected this argument. He said the effect is the opposite.
He described AI as a thought partner. He explained the process:
- AI gives a view, and he debates it.
- He challenges the answer with other angles.
- He asks AI to improve results, for example by making a process 20% more efficient.
- He uses AI to brainstorm.
He said AI has become his own thinking partner.
Advice on Choosing a Field of Study
Son recalled that at age 16 he visited the head of McDonald's Japan and asked what he should study. Asked what answer he would give a young person today, he said AI.
He said that students should combine super intelligence with the field they choose. His examples:
- Medicine: Super intelligence applied to medicine would make the field much more productive.
- Automotive: Combined with automotive expertise, super intelligence would produce what he called "the real super car."
- Other fields: He applied the same logic to airplanes, business, and any specialty a person chooses.
In his view, combining super intelligence with a specific subject leads to success in that subject.
Use of AI in Team Decisions
The interviewer asked whether Son would let ChatGPT select the SoftBank Hawks' starting lineup. The SoftBank Hawks are one of the top baseball teams in Japan.
Son said lineup selection is the responsibility of the team's general manager. He explained that the general manager has broad capability and the trust of the players. He added that this human judgment is part of the appeal of the role. In his words, it is not simply a matter of calculation.