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Masayoshi Son

Founder, Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer, Softbank

Search every verified Masayoshi Son interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Masayoshi Son, founder, chairman, and CEO of SoftBank, recently discussed his views on artificial intelligence in several public appearances. In an October 2026 interview on the Inside Blackstone podcast, Son said he believes AI will become 10,000 times smarter than humans and argued against slowing down AI development, comparing the need for AI rules to traffic regulations for automobiles. He also stated that superintelligence will innovate new technology by itself and that technology development is the solution to related issues. In an early October 2026 Bloomberg appearance, Son issued a warning about AI risks, saying that humanity faces a larger issue of "human against super intelligence" and that misuse by bad actors could become "super dangerous." At SoftBank World 2026 in July, Son delivered a keynote in Japanese in which he predicted that by 2040 there will be 100 trillion AI agents and 1 billion humanoid robots. He told business leaders that vision and strategy are the most important elements for executives, and he dismissed the idea that AI is a bubble, suggesting that those who ask such questions do not understand AI's essence and often have not used it. He also said that companies using AI will take work from those that do not, while GDP continues to grow.

Recent appearances

Verified interview transcripts

Notable quotes

“I'm on the side of not really slowing down. Technology development actually is the solution to those kinds of issues. If we are primitive, of course we need guidance, the rules, like when automotive society comes, okay? We create a rule that we cannot drink, right? When you are driving, you cannot have alcohol in your brain. You have to stop at the red light, okay? You have to run on one side of the road so that you ”

“No matter what, how you define, if the AI become 10,000 times smarter, there's no more debate. It becomes so smart that it will start to innovate new technology by itself, right? So, it's really happening.”

“I think we don't have any more luxury of having human fight against human. There will be a bigger issue of human against super intelligence. You know? That if the super intelligence becomes so smart, and if bad usage by bad human use the wrong usage, this can become super dangerous.”

“In the last 16 years, we increased the number of golden eggs from 3 to 74. Again, three eggs increased to 74 eggs. But eggs don't lay eggs. A goose lays eggs.”

“France has been uh exporting electricity power. Now not just exporting continue to export electricity power, we can make convert electricity as a raw material into more high valued intelligence. So France can export intelligence not just a power export export intelligence which is made by power initiated by power more value added export.”

“I think people discuss whether AI is good, robotics by AI is good or bad for humanity. I said every time civilization comes the society lifestyle change the job change but if you avoid the speed and the wave of civilization your country would be left out. There's no choice. US is going fast. China is going fast. Europe, Japan, Asia have to also go fast not to be left out. This is a national security.”

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