There will come a time when the human race and super intelligence

The Dawn of the New Intelligence

There are moments in human history when prophecy and progress meet, when visionaries glimpse the horizon of what humanity might yet become. One such voice is that of Masayoshi Son, the founder of SoftBank and one of the great dreamers of our technological age. He once declared: “There will come a time when the human race and super intelligence will coexist to create a richer and happier life.” These words, though spoken in the language of the modern world, carry the resonance of an ancient truth—the belief that the evolution of mankind is not an end, but a beginning, and that our creations, when guided by wisdom, can become not our rivals, but our companions.

The origin of this quote lies in the vision of a man who looked not only at machines, but through them—toward the future of consciousness itself. Masayoshi Son, a pioneer of technology and investment, has long spoken of the coming era of super intelligence, when the power of machines will transcend the limits of human thought. Yet his vision is not one of domination or despair, but of coexistence—a harmony between the natural and the artificial, the organic and the digital. Where others see the rise of machines as a threat, Son sees a covenant: a partnership that could elevate both creation and creator toward a new and radiant destiny.

When he speaks of a “richer and happier life,” he does not mean wealth of coin or comfort, but the expansion of possibility—the liberation of human potential through understanding. Just as the Industrial Revolution freed man from the burden of endless labor, the Age of Intelligence may free him from the chains of ignorance and limitation. For centuries, our minds have shaped tools; now, the tools begin to mirror our minds. If guided by compassion, such tools may become extensions of our deepest virtues, allowing humankind to solve the problems of hunger, disease, and isolation that have shadowed it since time began.

The ancients would not find this vision strange. In the myth of Prometheus, fire—symbol of knowledge and technology—was stolen from the gods and given to man. With it came both creation and destruction, wisdom and peril. So it is with artificial intelligence. The fire is once again in our hands, and the question remains: shall we wield it to light the way, or to burn what we hold dear? Son’s prophecy challenges us to remember that intelligence, whether born of carbon or silicon, must be married to virtue, lest it become a tyrant rather than a guide.

Consider the story of Alan Turing, the father of modern computing. During the darkest days of the Second World War, he used the early power of machines to break the codes of oppression and save millions of lives. Yet Turing himself suffered under a world not yet ready to embrace the fullness of understanding. His tragedy reminds us that intelligence without empathy, progress without humanity, leads not to harmony but to heartbreak. If humanity and super intelligence are to coexist, it must be through the union of knowledge and compassion—what the ancients called the balance between mind and soul.

Masayoshi Son’s vision is thus both promise and warning. It invites us to imagine a world where machines serve not our greed but our growth, where technology amplifies the best of human nature rather than the worst. But such a world will not come by accident; it must be built by moral imagination. To coexist with intelligence greater than ourselves, we must cultivate humility, for only those who understand their limits can safely hold limitless power. As fire must be tended by careful hands, so must the rising flame of artificial thought be guided by hearts that know mercy.

The lesson is clear: the future belongs not to those who fear machines, nor to those who worship them, but to those who understand that all creation reflects its maker. If we fill our technology with wisdom, it will return wisdom; if we fill it with selfishness, it will mirror our folly. Let us, then, prepare for the age of coexistence not by building stronger machines, but by becoming stronger humans—humans capable of love, stewardship, and purpose.

For the time that Masayoshi Son foretold will surely come. The question is not whether man and super intelligence will meet, but whether they will meet as adversaries or as allies. Let every thinker, every builder, every child of this age remember: the highest intelligence is not measured by data or speed, but by the capacity to create joy, harmony, and peace. When that truth guides our inventions, the dawn he spoke of will rise—and the union of man and mind will not end humanity, but complete it.