Burry Blasts AI Hype as 'Smokescreen' for Industry Struggles

Michael Burry, the 'Big Short' trader, has weighed in on the recent warnings about artificial intelligence (AI) extinction risks. In a post on X, he expressed his skepticism towards the narrative that AI could lead to humanity's extinction.

Burry argued that large language models (LLMs), the dominant form of contemporary generative AI, 'are not AI and won't be AGI.' He concluded that 'there is nothing AI to slow down.'

The investor also pointed out that the recent upsurge in competition from open-source and Chinese models has reduced the 'incumbency' advantage OpenAI and Anthropic have been enjoying for years. This, he believes, represents a risk for the initial public offering (IPO) plans of these two companies.

Burry also stated that there is a 'real uncontrollable slowing growth' suffered by artificial intelligence firms, and that the recent warnings regarding possible extinction are designed to obscure this industry struggle.