The Memo: The tricky trade of trust

Plus: Robots on the clock.

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Photo: Rick Wilking (Reuters)

Hello, Memo readers!

Warren Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, sent out his annual letter to the company’s more than 3 million shareholders on Feb. 24.

The note is one business leaders and investors alike read each year to get into the mind of the Oracle of Omaha. Speaking about his sister, Bertie, one thing Buffett zeroed in on was Wall Street pundits.

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“She [Bertie] is sensible — very sensible — instinctively knowing that pundits should always be ignored. After all, if she could reliably predict tomorrow’s winners, would she freely share her valuable insights and thereby increase competitive buying? That would be like finding gold and then handing a map to the neighbors showing its location.”

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In other words: don’t trust ‘em.

That’s not all Buffett had to say. We pulled out three other key takeaways.


Quotable: Robots on the clock

“It performs the equivalent job of 700 full time agents. So while we are happy about the results for our customers, our employees who have developed it and our shareholders, it raises the topic of the implications it will have for society.” — Sebastian Siemiatkowski, the CEO of fintech firm Klarna, in a Feb. 27 X post talking about the work its AI technology can produce.

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Klarna laid off 700 workers in 2022, but the company said that move wasn’t related to AI. Regardless, it sure does raise questions about the future of society — and work.


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You got the Memo

Send questions, comments, Buffett wisdom, and buffet wisdom to talk@qz.com. This edition of The Memo was written by Morgan Haefner.