Despite Having His $400,000,000 To Protect, Shaquille O’Neal Echoes Stephen A Smith’s ‘Weird IRobot’ Movie AI Rant

Samir Mehdi | 29/05/2023
Despite Having His $400,000,000 To Protect, Shaquille O’Neal Echoes Stephen A Smith’s ‘Weird IRobot’ Movie AI Rant

Shaquille O’Neal has always been one to capitalize on latest innovations and cutting edge technology. Given that he’s one of the most prolific investors in the retired athletes landscape, he’s constantly on the hunt for new avenues to pursue. He’s built his $400,000,000 net worth through these savvy investments but one field he might be a bit on the fence about is Artificial Intelligence (AI), something Stephen A. Smith had conflicting opinions on as well.

AI has made its way to the public and has led to quite a lot of interesting developments regarding the safety of humanity going forward. Merely a couple decades ago, having fully functioning artificial intelligence was nothing but a dream. Now that it’s here, Shaq doesn’t seem all too thrilled about it.

Shaquille O’Neal shares a story from Stephen A. Smith about AI

Stephen A. Smith has been very vocal about his fear of artificial intelligence. He took to his ‘Know Mercy’ podcast to talk about the fact that while he does enjoy movies like ‘IRobot’, he fears that AI may get out of control.

“I watch these movies. I love all of that stuff. Although, I don’t like to see people getting eaten; Jaws. It scares the living hell out of me that we got to worry about artificial intelligence. I mean, human beings, human interaction is what it’s all about,” said Stephen A.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Stephen A. Smith (@stephenasmith)

The ESPN analyst is clearly frightened by the prospect of humanity being replaced by AI but is also intrigued by it at the same time. Shaquille O’Neal, who would need to protect his $400,000,000 worth in the case of an AI apocalypse and also use that same money to protect himself, seems to share a similar sentiment as he took to his Instagram story to re-port this clip from Stephen A. Smith.

Shaq believes humans would get blamed before AI does

Shaquille O’Neal being as business savvy as he is, used the example of failed commercials to talk about the expectations built up for both AI and humans. According to Shaq, if artificial intelligence were to make a commercial and it bombed, people would be quick to blame the humans behind the AI rather than the AI itself.

He also took to Twitter to post a hilarious picture of himself that was generated by AI that looked nothing like him. In fact, it looked more like his ‘Big Podcast’ co-host, Spice Adams.

Post Edited By: Samir Mehdi
Shaquille O'Neal Stephen A Smith

About the author

Avatar photo

Samir Mehdi

Samir Mehdi is a senior strategist for the NBA division at The Sportsrush. Ever since he was 13 years old, he’s been obsessed with the game of basketball. From watching Kobe Bryant’s highlights on YouTube to now, analyzing and breaking down every single game on League Pass, Samir’s passion for the game is unwavering. He's a complete basketball junkie who not only breaks down current games but also keenly watches ones from the 60s’ and 70s’ while also reading comprehensive books on the history of the league. Samir’s life revolves around basketball and he hopes that shows in his work. Aside from work, he loves to spend time in the gym and with his friends at social gatherings.

Don’t miss these