Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins/Futurism. Source: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
It seems Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is already making excuses in case the whole AI boom fails on a massive scale – well, his warning may be true.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday, Nadella emphasized the consequences of what would constitute such a speculative bubble, and said the long-term success of AI technology depends on its use across a wide range of industries – with its adoption being seen faster in developing countries, where it is not as popular. financial Times reports. If AI fails, in other words, it’s everyone else’s fault for not using it.
Nadella explained what pitfalls the AI industry needs to avoid, perhaps highlighting his concerns about its future.
“For it not to be a bubble by definition, the benefits need to be more evenly spread,” Nadella said. foot. He added, “If this is a bubble, it would be a clear signal that only tech companies are benefiting from the rise of AI.” He gave the example of a pharmaceutical company using AI to speed up drug trials; It does not need to be used to discover a “magic molecule”, but rather to develop the product to provide some other concrete, less extravagant benefit.
Nadella is adamant that these kinds of boosts provided by AI will justify AI and move the industry forward, emphasizing less spectacular and more practical applications of the technology.
“I am more confident that this is a technology that will truly build on the tracks of cloud and mobile, spread rapidly, and bend the productivity curve, and bring local surplus and economic growth around the world,” he declared.
Nadella’s worry-filled and more mundane-sounding predictions about the future of AI come as he has been particularly defensive about AI recently, as Microsoft reaffirms his commitment To spend tens of billions more on data centers and other AI-related costs. Earlier this month, he urged the public to stop using the word “slop,” an increasingly accepted new language to describe shoddy text, images and videos produced by AI models, which Merriam-Webster said was “sloping.” crowned word of the year. Nadella’s thesis seems to be that we should stop being mean about AI as it refines its “jagged edges” – which may take some time, according to his own admission.
He is not alone in shying away from his AI promises as a cloud of uncertainty hangs over the industry, with experts increasingly skeptical of AI progress and noting that even years after the AI boom the technology has not delivered meaningful gains in productivity. many tech ceo No name of Elon Musk to pass tried to pretend They haven’t been using the discovery of the creation of a famous artificial general intelligence, or AGI, as a rallying cry for the industry this whole time, because the idea of creating systems that surpass human intelligence seems more and more far-fetched in the immediate future.
OpenAI CFO Sarah Fryer expressed a similar tone. announced The company will focus on “practical adoption” of AI in 2026 and “how people, companies and countries are using it day-to-day.” ChatGPT users will soon get a first-hand glimpse of what this pivot to behavioral economics looks like: Last week, the company announced That free users will start being targeted with sponsored ads and content based on their interactions.
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