American cryptocurrency billionaire: 'Don't try to work harder than robots'

"If you are of working age and want to upgrade the world, make a difference and be remembered for something, the principle is quite simple: don't do the same thing over and over again, working harder every year, going against the wave of modern automation. Don't try to work harder than a robot," Saylor said on The Diary of A CEO podcast this week.

The 61-year-old billionaire made the above comment after the host asked him what he needed to do to build a legacy of the caliber of Michael Jackson or Elon Musk, and be recognized globally for his influence.

According to Fortune, the advice comes from Saylor's personal experience in transforming Strategy. He founded the software company in 1989, but shifted his focus to Bitcoin over the past few years, making Strategy the first public company to make the cryptocurrency a key part of its financial management strategy.

After traditional capital raising methods were no longer enough for Strategy to buy more cryptocurrency, Saylor used ChatGPT to help design a preferred stock tied to Bitcoin. The idea initially made lawyers and banks skeptical because no one had ever created such a product. But in the end, Strategy raised about $15 billion through its initial public offering (IPO) and related offerings. Saylor said, AI has helped him make $15 billion.

According to Strategy's executive chairman, for entrepreneurs and workers who want to benefit from the AI ​​wave, using the technology is "so obvious," but the advantage lies in asking better questions, not just automating the task at hand. He said, instead of learning how to do what AI can do, users need to learn how to ask AI to do things that have never been done before. "If you want to create extraordinary success, you need to find magical opportunities," he said.

Forbes estimates that Saylor's net worth is currently about $3.3 billion. Strategy's AI strategy is not without risks, though. The focus on Bitcoin and the use of preferred stock to raise more capital makes the company increasingly dependent on this cryptocurrency. That became clearer this year, when Bitcoin's price fell 26% and Strategy stock fell 38%.

However, Saylor believes that major breakthroughs often require overcoming many failures, and a company's willingness to adapt to difficulties is a key factor to success. The billionaire shared: "We were punched in the face hundreds of times. And every time we encountered a problem, we would stop, adjust, then go in another direction."

Saylor is not the only business leader or billionaire calling for AI to be embraced as an innovation tool. Many executives say the biggest opportunities in the AI ​​era will come from combining technology with unique human skills.

In June, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wrote on Twitter that AI is different from previous technology transformations because it is not simply about using digital tools to improve productivity. Rather than seeing AI as a replacement for employees, Nadella argues that human expertise will become even more important as AI gets better. He affirmed that people will continue to play a central role in setting goals, connecting ideas between many fields and discovering meaningful rules and trends.

In February, billionaire Mark Cuban also stated on Twitter that there are two types of AI users, including "those who use it to learn everything and those who use it to learn nothing." Previously, he shared on the High Performance podcast, the world has yet to witness the craziest things that AI can achieve and people who know how to use AI can create huge wealth.