•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Greg Abel, who succeeded Warren Buffett as Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO at the start of this year, used the company’s shareholder meeting in Omaha on Saturday to signal caution about how Berkshire approaches artificial intelligence.
Speaking to shareholders, Abel said Berkshire would not “go all in on AI,” contrasting his stance with prominent technology executives who have pledged large-scale spending to compete in the AI race.
Abel told the crowd: “We’re not going to do AI for the sake of AI,” adding that the technology must be “additive to our businesses.” He said Berkshire’s subsidiaries would use AI prudently, focusing on areas where it creates genuine value.
Business Insider reported that Abel’s remarks were delivered from the press box at the CHI Health Center in Buffett’s hometown.
Business Insider also spoke with the CEOs of several Berkshire subsidiaries on Friday, including See’s Candies, Dairy Queen, Brooks Running, and Jazwares. Those executives said their companies were adopting AI to different degrees, but were broadly positive about potential benefits such as saving time and improving worker efficiency.
The investment community remains split on whether AI represents a durable shift or a speculative bubble.
Kevin O’Leary, a “Shark Tank” star, and fund manager Ross Gerber dismissed comparisons to the dot-com bubble. They told Business Insider that AI is producing measurable productivity gains and contributing to growth in profits.
Other prominent investors have taken the opposite view. Michael Burry, known for “The Big Short,” and veteran investor Jeremy Grantham warned that AI could be a bubble of historic proportions that is likely to burst, with potentially devastating consequences.
Premium gym chains are entering a “golden era” that is ending or already in decline, as rising operating costs collide with shifting consumer preferences toward more flexible, community-based ways to exercise. Long-term memberships are shrinking, margins are pressured by higher rents and facility expenses, and competition from smaller, more personalized…
