AI may be better for scammers than society — Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett has cautioned the tens of thousands of shareholders who packed an arena for his annual meeting that artificial intelligence scams could become "the growth industry of all time."

Doubling down on his cautionary words from last year, Buffett on Saturday told the throngs he recently came face to face with the downside of AI. And it looked and sounded just like him.

Someone made a fake video of Buffett, apparently convincing enough that the so-called Oracle of Omaha himself said he could imagine it tricking him into sending money overseas.

The billionaire investing guru predicted scammers will seize on the technology, and may do more harm with it than society can wring good.

“As someone who doesn't understand a damn thing about it, it has enormous potential for good and enormous potential for harm and I just don’t know how that plays out,” he said.

Earnings before musings

Devotees come from all over the world to vacuum up tidbits of wisdom from Buffett, who famously dubbed the meeting ‘Woodstock for Capitalists.’

The day started early on Saturday with Berkshire Hathaway announcing a steep drop in earnings as the paper value of its investments plummeted and it pared its Apple holdings.

The company reported a $12.7 billion profit, or $8,825 per Class A share, in first the quarter, down 64 percent from $35.5 billion, or $24,377 per A share a year ago.

However, Buffett encourages investors to pay more attention to the conglomerate’s operating earnings from the companies it actually owns.

Those jumped 39 percent to $11.222 billion, or $7,796.47 per Class A share, led by insurance companies’ performance.

None of it that got in the way of the fun.

Throngs flooded the arena to buy up Squishmallows of Buffett and former Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, who died last fall.

The event attracts investors from all over the world and is unlike any other company meeting. Those attending for the first time are driven by an urgency to get here while the 93-year-old Buffett is still alive.

“This is one of the best events in the world to learn about investing. To learn from the gods of the industry,” said Akshay Bhansali, who spent the better part of two days traveling from India to Omaha.