By Megumi Fujikawa and Yang Jie
Artificial intelligence that's smarter than humans is just a concept for now, but SoftBank Group's chairman insists there is no doubt that the technology is coming.
It's not a matter of if artificial superintelligence will come, but when, Masayoshi Son said Friday during a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
"They will be 10,000 times smarter than us," said the billionaire tech investor, who has previously said he is "all in" on artificial superintelligence, or ASI.
The time for ASI is now, said Son, founder of the Japanese tech conglomerate that has backed high-profile names like Alibaba and Arm.
In recent years, SoftBank has been ramping up investing in AI, including via a multibillion-dollar partnership with ChatGPT provider OpenAI.
Son's visit to Korea comes as many nations grow more concerned about being reliant on countries like China and the U.S. for AI--a technology increasingly viewed as critical to economic and national security.
Some, like South Korea, are pushing to develop their own AI capacity.
South Korea's aim is to be one of the "top three superpowers for AI," Lee said Friday, a goal he has stated repeatedly as he touts the importance of not falling behind the curve in AI.
That push rests heavily on strength in chip-making. South Korea is already a global leader in semiconductors, especially in the memory space. Now it wants Son's help to go further.
On Friday, the South Korean government and Arm, the SoftBank-owned fabless chip maker, said they would explore establishing a school in the country, aiming to train some 1,400 professionals to boost local engineering skills in chip-making and AI, according to South Korea's presidential office.
Son also urged the country to expand the data-center network necessary for ASI and called for stronger efforts to secure the energy required to power them.
The president asked Son to lead AI advancement in Asia and for his advice in areas like AI-related laws.
"There is a very important area of cooperation that we are pursuing - that is AI cooperation between Korea and Japan," Lee said. "I would like to ask for your assistance to play a bridging role in our future efforts."
In October, AI chip giant Nvidia struck a spate of deals with some of South Korea's biggest companies that will see its chips deployed across the country. The batch of partnerships forms part of the government's push to become an AI hub.
Lee said Friday that his administration is looking to set up an AI-based society where the technology becomes basic infrastructure similar to roads or water management systems.
"My government will make efforts to minimize the risks while we invest heavily on the benefits and also expect to reap the benefits," he said.
Write to Megumi Fujikawa at megumi.fujikawa@wsj.com and Yang Jie at jie.yang@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 05, 2025 04:40 ET (09:40 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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