Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff is pouring billions into artificial intelligence but says the hype around artificial general intelligence, or AGI, doesn't match reality, even as AI tools transform the company's workforce and sales strategy.
Benioff Calls AGI ‘Hypnosis' And Says Tech Is Still Limited
Speaking on the 20VC podcast that was posted on YouTube last week, Benioff said the industry is hypnotized by AGI, often used to describe AI systems that surpass human intelligence.
“You’re talking to somebody who is extremely suspect of anybody who uses those initials, ‘AGI.’ I think that we have all been sold hypnosis around what’s about to happen with AI, not that it couldn’t happen one day, we’ve all seen those movies … that isn’t the state of technology today.”
"It's not a person, and it's not intelligent, and it's not conscious," he said. “I’m trying to bring people back to the reality of here’s the current state of the art of AI, which is amazing, it is amazing, but let’s let’s actually use it for what it can be used for.”
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Salesforce CEO Doesn't Agree With Peers On AGI
Benioff argued no system today demonstrates consciousness, even as peers like Alphabet Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis warns AGI is imminent.
The Salesforce CEO gave an example of doctors relying too heavily on inaccurate AI and risk giving patients harmful advice while also becoming mentally lazy. “I think that is a huge warning sign for all of us around AI.”
Previously, Anthropic's co-founder has suggested that AGI could be achievable by 2028, though researchers continue to debate whether the term should be defined as human-level capability across most tasks.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has also speculated that AGI might emerge during Donald Trump's presidency.
Similarly, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, speaking at an April fireside chat, said it's reasonable to expect AGI to materialize sometime between 2028 and 2030.
Salesforce Cuts Thousands Of Jobs, Invests In AI Agents
Despite his skepticism of AGI, Benioff said Salesforce's use of AI has supercharged productivity. Speaking on The Logan Bartlett Show last week, he revealed the company cut its support team from 9,000 to 5,000, replacing tasks with AI agents that break down work into smaller steps.
"There were more than 100 million leads we had not called back in the last 26 years," he said. "We have now an agentic sales system calling back every person that contacts us."
Benioff likened the need for human oversight to Tesla Inc.'s self-driving mode.
“It’s not any different than — have you been like in your Tesla and all of a sudden, it’s self-driving and goes ‘oh I don’t actually know what’s happening, you take over’ and that’s kind of the same thing,” he stated.
Earnings Preview: Q2 Revenue Expected Near $10.13 Billion
Salesforce is likely to report its second-quarter earnings on Wednesday after market close, with analysts expecting revenue of $10.13 billion, up from $9.32 billion a year ago.
The company earlier announced plans to acquire AI automation platform Regrello, further integrating automation into Slack and Agentforce.
Price Action: Salesforce shares have fallen 25.53% year-to-date but are up 1.94% over the past 12 months, according to Benzinga Pro.
Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings show that CRM continues to trend downward across short, medium, and long-term horizons. More detailed performance insights are available here.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
