A.I. can ‘augment humanity in a very positive way,’ says family office investor Peter Bordes

Artificial intelligence can either “augment humanity” or become a job-killing digital predator, depending on how companies and regulators manage its growth in the coming years, said tech investor Peter Bordes. “While everyone is looking at ChatGPT, there are deeper conversations within the industry right now about ethics and integrity,” said Bordes, founder and managing partner of Trajectory Ventures and Trajectory Capital, the venture-capital and family office platform. “We need to start addressing this proactively versus just setting it free in the wild. Do we find a balance? They can take jobs away, but they can also augment humanity in a very positive way. It’s up to us as humans and entrepreneurs to dictate where it goes, especially within the next five to 10 year period.” Despite the focus on tech giants like Microsoft , Google and Meta when it comes to A.I., Bordes said family offices are uniquely positioned to invest in emerging A.I. technology. He said family offices’ long time horizon, entrepreneurial experience make them ideal investors in A.I. start-up focusing on specific uses like finance, energy, and even farming. “There is a lot of money out there from investors,” Bordes said. “Operators and entrepreneurs are looking not just for money, but for collaborative partnerships. And that’s one of the things that family offices don’t really think leverage up as much as they should. It’s an amazing opportunity in today’s economy right now. Not only an A.I. but all the disruptive global innovation that’s happening because all family offices, family businesses, those businesses have far reach into industries where they can have influence and helping these companies really accelerate.” When it comes to broader markets and the investment landscape, Bordes said he sees many similarities to today’s market and the dot-com bubble, which he also lived through as an investor. “Here we go again,” he said. “The perceived values got so out of whack with tangible values. It’s going to compress more.” To avoid tech blow-ups, Bordes said he tries to invest with “second-time” founders who have already started another company. He said family offices that do invest with first-time founders should provide their experience and expertise along with their capital. If this is their “first rodeo,” give them guidance, he said. “Don’t just give them money.”