Berkshire Hathaway | Charlie Munger: AI cannot cure cancer, Crypto shit has zero utility and is antisocial

Famed investor and Warren Buffett's business partner, Charlie Munger, attended the shareholders meeting of his publishing company, Daily Journal Corporation. During the meeting, sipping on Coca-Cola and continuously munching on See's Candies peanut brittle, Charlie Munger, who appears nothing like his age of 99, unleashed a barrage of criticisms against cryptocurrency, only to be drowned out.

AI Can't Cure Cancer

Shareholders questioned whether the development of ChatGPT and AI would impact Daily Journal's publishing business.

Charlie Munger believes that AI is important but also overhyped:

AI won't cure our cancer, and it can't do everything we want. There are still many irrational aspects overall, with pros and cons. I don't think AI will help all of our employees in the office.

Why BYD Electric Cars Over Tesla?

Why invest in BYD instead of Tesla?

In response, Charlie Munger stated that the reason is simple—Tesla lowered prices twice in China last year, while BYD raised prices. BYD is far ahead of Tesla in China, and although BYD is relatively unknown, its manufacturing plant is nearly the size of Manhattan.

He emphasized that BYD's electric car sales in China yielded an after-tax profit of over $2 billion last year, which is incredible.

Crypto Shit

Previously, Charlie Munger heavily criticized cryptocurrencies in a Wall Street Journal article.

Therefore, a CNBC anchor quoted a passage from the book "Poor Charlie's Almanack," where author Benjamin pointed out that in 2007, during law school, Charlie Munger said:

I have no right to speak on specific issues unless I can do a better job of articulating my position than those who support it or oppose my position.

The anchor asked if this statement contradicts Charlie Munger's criticism of cryptocurrencies in the article.

Below is Charlie Munger's response:

People who oppose my position are idiots, and I don't think those who oppose me have good arguments. Human nature is inherently prone to gambling. Sometimes I call this stuff Crypto crappo or Crypto shit, and I mean it.

It's absurd that people would buy this stuff. Think about it, there's almost nothing on Earth that compares to the benefits that money brings to humanity—I'm talking about national currency, which is definitely a necessity that emerged when apes turned into humans and entered civilized society, bringing convenience to all transactions.

So when someone says they want to create something to replace national currency, it's like saying they want to replace the essential air we breathe.

It's not just stupid, it's extremely foolish and dangerous. It's completely wrong for governments to allow this stuff. I'm not proud that the U.S. is tolerating this crap; these Crypto shit have no value, are terrible, antisocial, and utterly crazy, completely non-functional.

The right decision was made by the Chinese leaders, who took one look at Crypto shit and said, "This cannot appear in my China." That's it, and there are no more cryptocurrencies in China.

He is right, and we are wrong.

When it comes to issues like "how extensive should the social safety net be?" we should have many ideas, as this is a topic where different opinions are possible, and you should be able to hold opposing views.

But when it comes to something as terrible as Crypto shit, it's difficult to discuss and scary. I am ashamed for my country that so many people believe in this garbage and that the government allows its existence.

It's completely insane, foolish, cheating gambling game, and for smart people, there is only one answer: "Stay completely away, and don't even touch those network marketing Crypto people."

Finally, the anchor asked about Charlie Munger's opinion on the "legalized gambling" designed for the Super Bowl in the U.S.

Charlie Munger said that it's not as bad as Crypto shit; sports betting is at most using money that people can afford to gamble with, causing limited harm. The difference is that sports betting is played with family and friends, and his feelings about the two are completely different:

Even if you took away all the money I've ever gambled in my life, it would probably only be a few thousand dollars.