The term artificial intelligence (AI) has become a catchphrase for the year, but investors are now looking beyond underlying technology like ChatGPT to see how businesses in other sectors might profit from using the idea.
The second annual Forbes Iconoclast Summit brought together dozens of powerful investors and business executives on June 12 at Pier 60 in Manhattan to talk about how they’re managing their portfolios and guiding their organizations and clients through the turbulent time in global finance. Almost every panelist, including billionaire Ray Dalio and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, had something to say about large language models and generative artificial intelligence.
Amir Salek, senior managing director at Cerberus Capital Management, stated during the technology-focused panel titled “Rewiring The World: Is AI the Answer?” That the principles of AI are not completely new. They have had several rounds of elevated expectations and letdowns. He believes this cycle is true this time around because computer power has finally increased to the point where AI has surpassed the bounds of what was thought to be achievable.
Artificial intelligence (AI) offers a convergence of performance enhancements that result from the relatively quickly improved capabilities, accessibility (unlike some other technologies, which are fairly arcane), and awareness, especially with social media according to Julian Salisbury, head of investments at Goldman Sachs Asset and Wealth Management. Although there may be some hiccups along the way, he continued, it is unquestionably transforming how businesses run and what we invest in.
Some investors are searching for businesses in other industries that are utilizing the concepts to boost their performance rather than only banking on AI itself or IT companies that serve its purveyors.
The semiconductor market is one of those significant capital-intensive endeavors that we are currently focusing less on. In order to accomplish tasks in a way that is significantly more capital-efficient, we are concentrating on finding businesses that can take advantage of the use of these technologies in sectors like healthcare and education. Salisbury remarked that it wasn’t only a matter of finding the AI business.
The best opportunities can occasionally be found in the most underserved areas, just like with any breakthrough technology.
The widespread use of AI is something we can currently observe in other parts of the world. How can yield be increased to ensure food security in Africa? What steps can be taken to modify how local inhabitants can access money in a region of the world without credit scoring systems and with a large amount of microfinance? Noor Sweid, the founder and managing partner of Global Ventures, a startup capital firm based in Dubai, concurred. The ability to leapfrog is easier for emerging markets because there isn’t any infrastructure or legacy to attempt to somehow replace.
The panelists did not err on the side of caution. Sailsbury predicted that the development of artificial intelligence would not be a straight upward trend. According to him, a lot of value will be created and destroyed and there will be a separation between businesses and people who embrace and understand this technology and others who choose to disregard it.
