TikTok’s Chew and Microsoft’s Nadella warn the world is overhyping AI

Tech leaders are warning that the world overestimates what AI can do and underestimates how immature it still is. Chew: short-term hype, long-term blind spot TikTok CEO Shou Chew made the case at the DBS Asia Future Forward 2026 Conference on October 12. His argument came in two parts. First, he said society is overestimating what AI can accomplish in the near term. Second, he said people are underestimating what it could mean further down the road. Chew argued for a collaborative model in which humans and AI work together. In that setup, he said, people should keep the final say on decisions rather than handing authority to machines. He also flagged cybersecurity risks that could emerge from highly autonomous AI systems. The more freedom a system has to act on its own, the larger the potential attack surface becomes. Chew said there is a “non-zero chance” that silicon-based AI could surpass human capabilities across a range of domains. He noted that AI is already reshaping content creation, moderation, search and coding at TikTok. Microsoft wants an emergency brake On October 11, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella urged companies to treat advanced AI models as potential insider threats. ...