Artificial intelligence that is smarter than humans could be more dangerous than helpful. That’s the sentiment echoed by some of the world’s most prominent AI scientists. Max Tegmark, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yoshua Bengio, “godfather of AI” and a professor at the Université de Montréal, have raised concerns about the proliferation of AI agents without guardrails.
According to Bengio, there is a greater risk in developing artificial intelligence agents without safeguards or knowing how they will behave.
“Do we want to be in competition with entities that are smarter than us? It’s not a very reassuring gamble, right? So we have to understand how self-preservation can emerge as a goal in AI,” Bengio said in a podcast on CNBC.
Tegmark believes there is a need for safety standards to govern how AI tools operate. The ultimate goal is to have powerful AI agents or tools that are simultaneously under human control.
“I think, on an optimistic note here, we can have almost everything that we’re excited about with AI … if we simply insist on having some basic safety standards before people can sell powerful AI systems,” Tegmark said.
In 2023, Tegmark’s Future of Life Institute recommended halting the creation of AI systems that could rival humans in intelligence. Although that hasn’t happened, Tegmark stated that the topic is being discussed and that it’s time to act to determine how to implement safeguards to regulate AGI.
Sentiments by the two AI scientists come on the heels of US President Donald Trump repealing former President Joe Biden’s guardrails that sought to govern the development of artificial intelligence. One key provision under the previous order was the requirement that tech companies develop the most advanced AI models and share details about their work with the government before releasing them to the public.
While tech giants had welcomed the AI safety measure, there was disquiet among some big players insisting that the order, which invoked the Defense Production Act, had the potential to derail the nascent industry. Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen had already warned before Trump came to office that the Biden order would deliberately affect AI development given the onerous regulations in play.
Trump had always been vocal against the AI safety measure, reiterating during the campaigns that it hindered innovation and imposed radical leftwing ideas on technology development. However, free speech was not restricted by the Biden order itself.
Certain provisions of the Biden AI measure sought standards for watermarking AI-generated content in an effort to lessen the risks of impersonation and abusive sexual deepfake imagery. Several federal agencies were also instructed to protect against the possible negative effects of AI applications, cautioning against careless applications that reproduced and intensified existing inequities.
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A close up of a circuit board, its microchips creating a powerful computing system.
9. Safe Pro Group Inc. (NASDAQ:SPAI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A
Safe Pro Group Inc. (NASDAQ:SPAI) manufactures and sells personal protective gear and ballistic protection products in the United States. It also deals in artificial intelligence (AI) solutions specializing in drone imagery processing. On January 31st, the company confirmed that it is receiving interest for its New American-made Protective Gear from potential buyers in the military law enforcement and public safety markets.
Its ultra-weight 305 PRO hard armor and SpotlightAI, the patented AI-powered drone image analysis technology, are the two solutions eliciting strong interest. Safe Pro Group Inc. (NASDAQ:SPAI) uses cutting-edge machine learning to identify small objects, especially unexploded ordnance (UXO) and landmines. It performs noticeably better using the AWS cloud to process each image in less than 0.2 seconds than conventional human analysis.
8. VCI Global Limited (NASDAQ:VCIG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 1
VCI Global Limited (NASDAQ:VCIG) is a leading provider of AI-driven enterprise solutions. It offers technology consultancy services and solutions, such as digital development, fintech solutions, and software solutions. On February 5th, it unveiled a next-generation AI aggregator platform. The platform is designed to enhance AI integration while providing seamless access to major AI models such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek.
The unveiling of the next-generation AI aggregator platform is part of VCI Global Limited’s (NASDAQ:VCIG) effort to tap into the global AI platform market, growing at a 20% compound annual growth rate. It positions the company to tap into the rising demand for AI solutions as businesses look to enhance efficiency and operations around AI. The company works with AI developers, enterprises, and industry experts to ensure the platform offers businesses, developers, and technology providers the most value possible.
7. Bridgeline Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLIN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 3
Bridgeline Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLIN) is a leading provider of marketing technology. It offers HawkSearch, an AI-powered site search, recommendation, and personalization application for marketers and developers. On February 6th, the company confirmed that a leading supplier in the plumbing industry had tapped its AI-powered HawkSearch solution.
Integration of HawkSearch should allow the supplier to optimize digital engagement by leveraging AI-powered product discovery and intelligent search solutions. The supplier is to use HawkSearch to enhance customer experience and drive revenue through advanced search capabilities.
“We’re proud to support this major supplier with the launch of HawkSearch,” said Ari Kahn, CEO of Bridgeline Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLIN). “By implementing HawkSearch, they are equipping their customers with cutting-edge tools that simplify product discovery, enhance engagement, and drive measurable business growth.” HawkSearch continues to elicit strong interest, a global manufacturer of life safety equipment, having integrated it into its operations last month.
6. Cerence Inc (NASDAQ:CRNC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 10
Cerence Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNC) specializes in AI-powered virtual assistants for the automotive and transportation markets, focusing on speech recognition. On February 6, the company announced its first quarter fiscal 2025 results. Cerence Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNC) reported Q1 FY2025 revenue of $50.9 million, down from $138.3 million in Q1 FY2024, with declines in key metrics. The quarter saw a GAAP net loss of $24.3 million, compared to a $23.9 million profit the prior year. Despite this, the company achieved six design wins, two generative AI solutions wins, and six major customer SOPs, maintaining a 51% share of worldwide auto production and a 5% increase in connected cars shipped.
5. 8×8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 12
8×8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT) is a software application company that provides voice, video, chat, contact center, and enterprise-class application programmable interface (API) Software-as-a-Service solutions. The company delivered third-quarter results on February 4th that affirmed progress and continued momentum in the transformation journey.
The solid financial performance was characterized by record cash flow from operations and strong adoption of the company’s AI-powered customer experience solutions. Consequently, 8×8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT) monthly recurring revenue was up by over 60% year over year, driven by strong demand for AI-based solutions like intelligent customer assistance, secure payments, and video-enabled services.
4. SiTime Corporation (NASDAQ:SITM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 18
SiTime Corporation (NASDAQ:SITM) is a semiconductor company that designs, develops, and sells silicon timing systems solutions. On February 6th, analysts at Needham reiterated their Buy rating on the stock and raised the price target to $250 from $225. The bullish rating comes on the company delivering solid financial results and providing an optimistic forecast for the year that underscores underlying growth.
Net revenue in fiscal year 2024 was up 41% to $202.7 million. The increase came as SiTime Corporation (NASDAQ:SITM) enjoyed growth of over 30% across all its customer segments. Communications, Enterprise, and Datacenter businesses registered significant gains due to the critical role of precision timing in AI. The company is pursuing growth opportunities amid the artificial intelligence boom. It has already unveiled SiT5977 Super-TCXO, a timing solution capable of delivering resilient performance in AI compute nodes. Last year, it unveiled a chip designed to help data centres built for artificial intelligence run more efficiently.
3. Monolithic Power Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 33
Monolithic Power Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR) is a technology company that designs, develops, and sells semiconductor-based power electronics solutions for the storage, computing, and automotive sectors. The company delivered better-than-expected fourth quarter and full-year 2024 revenue on February 7th. It also issued strong Q1 guidance amid strong demand for artificial intelligence.
Monolithic Power Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR) delivered $621.7 million in revenue against $608.1 million expected. Adjusted profit stood at $4.09 a share against $3.98 a share expected. The better-than-expected results came as Monolith Power systems benefited from the growing adoption of generative AI, increasingly driving demand for the hardware required running advanced data centres. Likewise, the company expects its first-quarter revenue to range between $610 million and $630 million as it bets on strong demand for its power control products as generative AI drives data center expansion.
2. Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE:ROK)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 38
Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE:ROK) provides industrial automation and digital transformation solutions. On February 4th, the company confirmed the deepening of its long-standing partnership with FORTNA. The two plan to leverage artificial intelligence in driving digital transformation in the supply chain sector. Consequently, they plan to enhance the safe automation of AI and machine learning to modernize operations and enhance efficiency in supply chain networks.
Key partnership initiatives include automating processes to increase productivity and safety while utilizing advanced analytics to enhance decision-making and digitizing operations. The following phase will also enable FORTNA-designed systems to function more autonomously, utilizing AI to enhance decision-making and streamline processes. The integration of generative AI features should allow Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE:ROK) and its partners to offer more integrated services and technology that can help businesses improve operations and adapt to future challenges.
1. Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 91
Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) is a software infrastructure company that offers various cloud software applications. The company is taking a different approach, even as other software giants focus their resources on developing general-purpose virtual assistants. Instead, the company focuses on integrating AI features into software applications to speed up every day but tedious tasks.
Consequently, on February 6th, Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) confirmed integrating a new set of artificial intelligence tools into NetSuite, its corporate finance software offerings. The integration seeks to make it easier for consumers to get price quotes on various purchases. The feature can compile a quote via a conversation with a chatbot or upon asking what a customer wants. Its primary goal is to speed up the purchase process in the e-commerce business.
While we acknowledge the potential of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ORCL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.
