The A.I. Industry’s New Worry: ‘Liability Exposure’

Andrew here. Breaking: It’s the end of an era as Warren Buffett steps down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett, the legendary investor who turned 96 last month, will remain on the board as chairman emeritus.

“Father Time always wins,” Buffett wrote in a letter to shareholders on Friday. Under Berkshire’s long-established succession plan, his son Howard Buffett will become chairman to preserve the company’s culture. Greg Abel took over as C.E.O. from Buffett on Jan. 1.

The immediate question is whether Berkshire’s conservative business strategy will shift, even slightly. Buffett has praised Abel’s leadership. But with a balance sheet holding over $300 billion largely in cash and Treasuries, Berkshire is essentially hedging against buoyant stocks, waiting for its next major opportunity — which will most likely be a market fall.

A.I.’s risk factor for investors

Throughout the debate about artificial intelligence safety that has gripped Silicon Valley and beyond, the industry’s leading figures have been remarkably forthcoming about the harms their creations could unleash.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/business/dealbook/ai-legal-liability.html