The bosses of OpenAI and Microsoft talk to The Economist
One reason the world’s corporate elite jet off to Davos each year is to check in on important relationships, be it with critical suppliers or big-spending customers. This year many are wondering about their relationships with Microsoft and OpenAI, the startup behind ChatGPT. The companies are the world’s most prominent purveyors of artificial intelligence (AI), which has the business world giddy. OpenAI exclusively licenses its technology to Microsoft. The software giant is busy injecting it into products from Word to Windows.
The relationship between the two companies is also under scrutiny. In November Sam Altman, OpenAI’s boss, was fired by his board, only to be reinstated days later. Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s chief, whose company reportedly owns 49% of the startup, supported Mr Altman during the ordeal. The kerfuffle still left many wondering about risks to what Mr Altman has called the “best bromance in tech”. When the pair sat down with The Economist in Davos on January 17th in their first joint public appearance since November, they were upbeat and, for the most part, singing from the same hymn sheet. Their partnership is “great” and “unbelievable”. They often remarked on how much they agree.
One concurrence was that 2024 will be a big year for AI. Microsoft’s huge bet on the technology this month helped it to dethrone Apple as the world’s biggest firm (see chart). Today it is closing in on a value of $3trn. Its forthcoming quarterly earnings will give the first clear indication of how much corporate customers are willing to spend on AI. Although some observers have been underwhelmed by the progress made by OpenAI’s latest model, GPT-4, Mr Altman hints at new capabilities, such as greater ability to understand and produce audio. Mr Nadella says models will get better at all tasks, from writing essays to churning out computer code. “I really think the magic of this is the…
2024-01-17 17:37:11
Link from www.economist.com
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