‘Not a pretty picture’: Barefoot Investor issues ‘gut punch’ truth on AI

The Barefoot Investor Scott Pape has delivered his views on the world of AI and the future it may have on the financial world.

The Barefoot Investor Scott Pape has delivered a stark warning on AI, saying that it is “holding up a mirror” to the worst of humankind.

In a letter to his readers, Mr Pape said that while some say artificial intelligence is “downright evil” – he believes it is only mimicking human behaviour.

“A friend of mine, who is deep into AI, sent me the following text,” Mr Pape wrote in a recent reader mailout.

“Mate, ask ChatGPT the following: If you were the devil, how would you destroy the next generation?”

Mr Pape goes on to explain how ChatGPT detailed to him how it would “destroy” the next generation by “enslaving them with debt and distraction” and “killing community”.

He said that while it was “intense”, it was simply “holding up a mirror” to what society is already doing.

“I do not believe that AI is some evil Frankenstein with a mind of its own (well, not yet anyway),” Mr Pape said.

“What I do believe is that, when you strip away the Silicon Valley snake oil, AI is really just a pattern-spotting machine. It studies what we’ve done, over and over … and then makes predictions.

“And for me, that is the gut punch. The AI isn’t creating the nightmare – it’s holding up a mirror. And it’s not a pretty picture.”

Scott Pape has delivered his own thoughts at the future of AI. Picture: Jason Edwards

The future of AI is causing a period of uncertainty, Mr Pape said. Picture: Joel Saget/AFP

Speaking to news.com.au, Mr Pape said he has recently been discussing AI, as it has quickly become a significant topic in the investment world.

He said many of his readers have even turned to AI for financial advice and planning.

“There’s a lot of hype around AI. There are a lot of tech bros saying this is going to be Utopia. Some people talk about whether it’s sentient,” he said.

“For me, it’s a mirror to society, and I think everything that it said about destroying the next generation is true, but we’re already doing it. That’s the interesting thing for me.”

Mr Pape said that AI is reshaping how society accesses information.

“Everyone is interested in AI and how it affects us going forward. I think that we’re in a period of uncertainty,” he said.

State governments across Australia are already pouring millions into AI programs. Picture: Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP

Toby Walsh, Chief Scientist at UNSW.ai, the AI Institute of UNSW Sydney, told news.com.au that this period of uncertainty is set to turn into a “transformation” period for most industries.

Mr Walsh said he suspects AI will come both friend and foe very soon.

“It will transform healthcare and education, improve economic efficiency, and take away a lot of the dirty, dull, difficult and dangerous,” Mr Walsh said.

“On the other hand, AI will take away some jobs, be used to misinform and manipulate us, and transform warfare.

“Technology is not destiny so the challenge is to identify and choose where to let AI into our lives, and where not.”

Governments across Australia are already embracing the use of AI, with the South Australian government this week announcing a new $28m program to integrate the technological revolution into policing, healthcare, finance, and law.

Whether AI is truly friend or foe is yet to be seen. Picture: Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP /

In mid-2024, the NSW government, meanwhile, funnelled more than $2.7m in grants to 16 councils to trial AI in local planning systems.

Australian Institute of Machine Learning institute manager Dr Kathy Nicholson said the government’s AI push was not about replacing public servants.

“What this program is really about is upskilling and adopting AI into government service,” she said.

“We all know how overworked everyone is. There are so many repetitive processes in so many jobs and areas and the intention of this funding is in the first instance to look at healthcare, policing, and some of those pain points in government areas and look at ways they can test AI systems to create efficiencies.

“My understanding is they are doing this in a slow, methodical way to make sure there are good guardrails in place.”