In a recent interview with CNBC, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella emphasised that what worries him the most about AI is the need for collective societal collaboration to, “Maximise the opportunity and mitigate the dangers” associated with the technology.
Since the release of OpenAI‘s widely talked about ChatGPT, lawmakers, industry experts and developers have been grappling with the question of how to regulate the rapid advancement of generative AI technology.
“We definitely want the benefits of this technology and we want to mitigate the unintended consequences,” said Nadella. “The leadership that’s required and the coming together of all the parties that is required is challenging, but it has to be done.”
Regulating AI technology
On regulating AI, Nadella says that, “It would be good for companies. We do not have to wait for regulations.” He added that what was currently happening was good and that regulators know what they are doing. And when asked if a small player could win in the Al field today, the CEO responded that it was not a, “Given that Microsoft and Alphabet will be the only games in town.”
Nadella also acknowledges that AI development is indeed moving too fast.
“If anything, I feel, yes, it’s moving fast, but moving fast in the right direction,” Nadella said. “Humans are in the loop versus being out of the loop. It’s a design choice, which, at least, we have made.”
The widespread impact of ChatGPT sparked intense discussions and deliberations among various stakeholders on how best to address the emerging challenges and implications associated with AI. In fact, more than 27,000 people including Tesla CEO Elon Musk have signed an open letter to pause AI development for at least six months.
New jobs and easier access to knowledge
The Windows company CEO says that new disruptive technologies are created all the time and that although there will be, “Real displacements” in the job market, Nadella also believes that AI will create new jobs.
“I mean, there can be a billion developers. In fact, the world needs a billion developers,” he said. “So the idea that this is actually a democratising tool to make access to new technology and access to new knowledge easier, so that the ramp-up on the learning curve is easier.”
The Microsoft CEO adds that children could have access to an ‘AI tutor’ that can break down information to make things easier to understand and kids no longer have the, “Fear of learning.” Nadella says that humans will still have their critical thinking abilities but with AI, there’s an opportunity to leverage new tools.
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
