The Three Arrows Capital co-founder argued AI, like oil, could become commoditized, depend on large-scale state-backed capital and produce broad social gains alongside significant external costs.
Three Arrows Capital co-founder Zhu Su said oil may be the closest analogy for AI, framing both as technologies that can take many forms but ultimately become commoditized. He said each requires large-scale capital investment, often backed by states, to develop at scale, while the benefits spread broadly across society. Zhu Su added that both also create negative externalities (side effects borne by society) that need to be managed, citing environmental pollution for oil and possible energy use, job disruption and other social risks for AI.