Artificial intelligence (AI) is the new frontier in the tech race for companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Google. AI refers to the development of computers to perform tasks that would normally require human intelligence, including visual perception, speech recognition, decision making, and language translation. Basically human intelligence through a machine.
One of the hottest forms of AI is generative AI, which is capable of creating new content. The latest craze in generative AI is the chatbot ChatGPT, created by OpenAI, a company that Microsoft invested $1 billion in 2019 and another $10 billion in recently. ChatGPT stands for Generative Pretrained Transformer and it is capable of generating coherent text, images, and other content in just seconds. It can also respond to follow-up questions and comments.
Why is Microsoft investing in ChatGPT?
Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, recently announced the company’s plan to incorporate AI tools like ChatGPT into all of its products. Nadella has stated that the two companies have a shared ambition to advance AI research and democratize the technology. Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI is not for the sake of philanthropy, it is to monetise artificial intelligence and also potentially to compete with Google.
Microsoft owns the Bing search engine, which only has about 3% of the market share compared to Google’s search engine with over 90%. If ChatGPT could be integrated into Bing, it could provide a major boost and competitive advantage against Google’s current search engine. Google is aware of this and has declared a “code red” over fears it might help competitors eat into its $150 billion search business.
Who else is developing artificial intelligence programs?
Google has also been developing its own AI systems, including a subsidiary called DeepMind and its own chatbot, LaMDA. However, it had to hold back from releasing its own image generation system, Imagen, due to ethical challenges related to the possibility of the system learning harmful stereotypes and representations through the internet.
Other players in the AI race include Chinese company Baidu, Amazon, Facebook’s parent company Meta, and startups like Anthropic and Character AI.
Will artificial intelligence take our jobs?
The future of AI and its impact on jobs is a topic of much discussion. While some are worried about the loss of jobs, others are optimistic about the potential benefits AI could bring to society. AI has the potential to automate many tasks, which could lead to the loss of some jobs, but it also has the potential to create new jobs in fields such as AI development, maintenance, and research.
Companies like Microsoft and Google are investing heavily in AI and its potential to transform the future, and the impact of this technology will be watched closely in the coming years.
If you want to discover more about Microsoft’s investment in ChatGPT and the future of artificial intelligence, then check out our recent episode of the Dive!