Brian Chesky says people should ‘surf the wave’ of AI

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said people should approach artificial intelligence by learning to work alongside it, describing the technology as a wave people can “surf” rather than be pulled under by. In remarks aired Thursday from Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia + Technology Conference, Chesky stressed that he was not certain AI would produce a positive outcome.

For investors following Brian Chesky AI Communacopia comments, the key point was his conditional view: he said AI itself is neither inherently good nor bad, and that its effect will depend on how people use it. CNBC reported that Chesky made the comments in an interview with David Faber.

“I’m not confident I’m right. I’m not confident that it’s going to be positive, but I think it can be,” Chesky said, according to CNBC. He compared AI with nuclear power, which he said can either provide electricity to a city or destroy one.

What did Brian Chesky say about AI at Communacopia?

Chesky said people need to be reminded that they remain valuable to society as AI develops. His phrase about surfing the wave framed AI as a force that people can respond to and use, rather than an outcome that has already been decided.

He also described a possible “cognitive revolution,” according to CNBC. By that, Chesky said AI could help humans become smarter alongside the technology. He did not announce a specific Airbnb AI product, business plan or policy proposal during the interview described by CNBC.

Why the comments came up at the conference

AI was a major topic of discussion at the annual gathering of top executives, which began Tuesday, CNBC reported. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen were among the scheduled Thursday speakers.

The event also unfolded amid sharply different public views on AI’s risks and benefits. CNBC reported that former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon resigned Tuesday and warned in a post on X about the dangers he sees from rapidly advancing systems. Those were Coxon’s views, not independently established findings in the report.

Chesky’s position sat apart from both an assuredly positive and an assuredly catastrophic outlook. He acknowledged uncertainty, while arguing that the choices people make around the technology will shape whether it becomes beneficial.

For everyday investors, broad executive statements on AI are best read as an indication of how company leaders are thinking about the technology, rather than as evidence of a new product, revenue target or operating change. In Chesky’s case, the reported message was about human agency and the possibility of people developing alongside AI.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.