SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son predicts AI will generate 20% of global GDP by 2040

Discussions about artificial intelligence are often overshadowed by its potential threats to security and financial services.

However, SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son brought up the positive side of AI while dismissing any talk of a bubble forming as quite absurd.

According to Son, around $5 trillion worth of investment would be required by 2040 to push the development of AI on a massive scale.

“Every year $5 trillion, or 800 trillion yen, you might ​think that's a lie, but I am confident that's what it will cost," Son said ⁠at SoftBank's annual corporate conference in Tokyo.

He also predicted that AI revenue is going to hit 20 percent of global GDP by 2040. "The business model will be viable because by 2040, if AI revenue ​makes up 20% of global GDP, spending 800 trillion yen a year is a rounding error," Son added.

However, it remains unclear how he calculated the figure mentioned during the conference.

There is a growing anxiety about whether the massive capital expenditure currently flowing into AI infrastructure will result in adequate financial returns. Son dismissed the notion of an "AI bubble", suggesting that critics lack a fundamental understanding of what AI entails.

For the past two years, the tech companies have been pouring massive amounts into building data centers and expanding the scope of artificial intelligence.

SoftBank is expanding its footprint in AI by betting on OpenAI as their cumulative investment is expected to surpass $60 billion by the end of 2026. He also predicted that AI-powered infrastructure would require power generation by 2040.

"Will ​we use solar ⁠power in space as Elon Musk says? Maybe we will use both, but if you ask me fusion on earth will be the cheaper, cleaner energy source," he said.