Microsoft has announced a multi-year, multibillion-dollar investment in artificial intelligence (AI) as part of an expansion of its cooperation with OpenAI. OpenAI is the developer of the popular picture-generating programme Dall-E as well as the chatbot ChatGPT.
Microsoft invested $1 billion (£808 million) in the startup formed by Elon Musk and tech investor Sam Altman in 2019. Microsoft, the manufacturer of Windows and Xbox is planning up to 10,000 layoffs, but says it will continue to employ in crucial core areas.
In a note to employees last week, CEO Satya Nadella announced: “The next major wave of computing is being born, with advances in AI.”
Announcing the extended relationship, the corporation said it anticipated AI would have an effect at the magnitude of the personal computer, the internet, mobile devices and the cloud.
ChatGPT from OpenAI is capable of providing convincingly human responses to inquiries. Speculation about the technology’s possible misuse, from assisting students in exam cheating to developing malware, has gone hand in side with claims that it has the ability to revolutionise several industries, including search.
Microsoft owns the Bing search engine, and while it is less popular than Google, some believe ChatGPT poses a danger to the industry leader.
According to the New York Times, it has prompted Google to declare a code red on concerns that it will allow competitors to eat into the company’s $149 billion search business.
Google has historically refrained from making some AI systems available to the public. The company has cited “ethical problems” for not disclosing Imagen, their picture-generating system. Researchers claimed there was a possibility the system, which is trained on data collected from the web, may learn harmful prejudices and representations.
Microsoft said it was dedicated to developing AI systems and solutions that are trustworthy and safe. It claimed it would integrate OpenAI’s technology across consumer and enterprise products.
In addition to ChatGPT, the company creates Dall-E, which makes images in response to basic text directions, and GitHub Copilot, which utilises AI to assist in the writing of computer code.
Microsoft stated that its Azure cloud computing platform would continue to power OpenAI. Earlier reports stated that Microsoft was considering investing an additional $10 billion in OpenAI, but the company’s announcement did not specify the amount.
