Is this AI's LEAST likely cheerleader? Blackstone's 77-year-old Republican megadonor CEO has pumped half a billion into cutting-edge tech - even though he still uses a flip phone and says 'email' is his favorite app

When you think of leaders in artificial intelligence, you probably picture sneaker-wearing, baby-faced Silicon Valley-types like Mark Zuckerberg and Sam Altman. But one of the the biggest funders of AI is 77-year-old Blackstone CEO and Republican megadonor Steve Schwarzman - who says his favorite app is'email.' Schwarzman, who was still using a basic flip phone at the time, became enamored with AI in 2015, when the co-founder of Alibaba told him that AI is the wave of the future and would change job functions, drug development and education. Since then, Schwarzman has invested more than 500 million dollars in the advancement of AI and has donated millions of dollars to Yale University to establish a center for AI advancements and to create the University of Oxford's Institute for Ethics in AI. Steve Schwarzman had a brief stint in the U.S. Army Reserve in 1970 before he headed to Harvard Business School In the midst of concerns over an AI takeover, Schwarzman, who is worth 37.8 billion, is now working to promote AI and reassure the public that the technology is meant to assist with daily tasks, not to replace humans.