SLACK, MEET SKYNET

Salesforce CEO Wants AI to Make Slack ‘Wake Up and Become Intelligent’

The billionaire CEO of Salesforce, which owns Slack, seems to be dreaming about a day others might consider a nightmare.

Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, which owns the messaging app Slack, joined the chorus of industry leaders heralding an artificial intelligence boom, touting the potential for AI tech to revolutionize the messaging platform in a recent interview. “My dream is that… Slack is almost going to like wake up and become intelligent itself,” Benioff told CNBC’s Jim Cramer. “It’s going to be an incredible revelation for our customers, that they’ve got intelligence by their side with Slack.” Benioff said Slack, a staple in many offices, will soon include several AI features that can summarize conversations and suggest improvements to messages. But if you’re concerned about a semi-sentient version of Slack coming for your job, don’t worry, Benioff says—he thinks AI isn’t going to replace workers, just make them more productive. That includes himself, apparently. “Slack is going to be my assistant, my partner, my co-pilot, it’s helping me to run my company,” he said.