Open AI CEO Sam Altman chats with Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott at Microsoft Construct 2024.
Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET
Since OpenAI launched ChatGPT over two years in the past, it has retained its place as one of many frontrunners within the AI race, always growing smarter fashions and spin-off merchandise. The corporate has no intention of slowing down, with its final objective being to attain Synthetic Normal Intelligence (AGI) or AI with autonomous, human-level intelligence.
“Our mission is to make sure that AGI advantages all of humanity,” stated OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a weblog submit final month. “In some sense, AGI is simply one other device on this ever-taller scaffolding of human progress we’re constructing collectively.”
Additionally: Generative AI is lastly discovering its candy spot, says Databricks chief AI scientist
Nonetheless, OpenAI’s largest strategic associate, Microsoft, has taken a special strategy. In a latest interview, CEO Satya Nadella shared that the corporate isn’t engaged on the long-term objective of reaching AGI as a result of it believes AGI to be overhyped. With a long-standing partnership and Microsoft investing billions in OpenAI, it raises the query: how are the 2 nonetheless managing to work collectively?
In an SXSW panel titled “Constructing Reliable AI: Evolving Security Practices for GenAI,” Microsoft CPO of Accountable AI Sarah Chicken make clear the businesses’ dynamics. Regardless of the deviating approaches, she shared that there was no “stress.”
“You assume there could be type of stress between these two, however in observe, it does not appear to materialize that means,” stated Chicken.
Moderately, Chicken finds that this bold objective pushes OpenAI to “dream large” and develop the web new functionality that the world has by no means seen as an alternative of creating incremental upgrades. Based on Chicken, this drive and focus are wanted for significant AI growth.
Additionally: Google launches Gemini with Personalization, beating Apple to private AI
Microsoft’s determination to not pursue AGI is rooted within the firm’s need to have its AI choices work with folks as an alternative of changing them solely. A major instance is Microsoft’s Copilot, positioned as an “AI companion” that assists customers throughout all the main Microsoft choices, together with the Microsoft 365 suite of purposes and Github.
“For me, [AGI] is a non-goal, and that is true for Microsoft as properly. We’ve got loads of people, which is fairly cool, so I’d relatively have a know-how that augments human capabilities and does the issues that people both aren’t nice at or people do not need to do,” stated Chicken.