The “singularity” is the theoretical point at which machines can out-think humans and technological change becomes unstoppable. It justifies breakneck investment in businesses with disruptive potential, according to Masayoshi Son, founder and chief executive of Japanese tech group SoftBank.
“This is the biggest revolution in human history,” he told analysts in August. “Artificial intelligence will change or will redefine all the industries . . . the winners in AI will be winners in the future.”
For the moment, the real singularity is Mr Son. As an iconoclast from consensual Japan, he embodies big contradictions. Fans see him as a tech investment genius. Some traditionally-minded Tokyo business people dismiss him as a reckless chancer.
