Could AI structure a private equity deal? Here's what Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman said

Real economy on long-term basis in India is excellent, says Blackstone's Stephen Schwarzman

Even as everyone debates the role of artificial intelligence, there is a growing sense that the world is on cusp of witnessing a major technology revolution driven largely by artificial intelligence.

Amid the buzz of AI-driven productivity boom, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman has called it as important as the invention of electricity. In an exclusive interview to Bodhisatva Ganguli, Group Consulting Editor, Network18, Schwarzman spoke about his involvement with AI and its impact on the world.

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Calling it a “transformative technology” Schwarzman said that “AI right now is what invention of electricity was for the world back in the day. Nobody knew what to do with it at the start, other than a light bulb. And now we use electricity for virtually everything. Whether it's your air conditioner, or your refrigerator, or your washer, or all kinds of activities.”

Schwarzman also spoke about the next phase of AI evolution. “We will get to what's called AGI, Artificial General Intelligence. There are going to be a lot of changes as a result. Some won't be very good. Education will change. Individualised education that can be beamed around the world. And it's particularly important for countries that have low GDP per capita. People who don't have much money, don't have great education systems. And there'll be a variety of transformations.”

When asked “could AI technologies draw up a term sheet, for instance, or structure a private equity deal,” the Blackstone CEO told Moneycontrol that “Well, if private equity owns businesses, that's its job. And businesses will be affected. Some areas can be replaced. Humans can be replaced. If you talk to the people who are pioneering products, the objective of AI is to work with people in the knowledge industries so that they can do research that would normally take weeks or longer. You'll be able to do that within five minutes. And so, it'll be like having a very powerful group of people working for you, except it's just a machine.”