In recent news, Bill Gates has commented on the recent calls to pause the development of artificial intelligence (AI), telling Reuters that such a move will not solve the challenges the technology presents. The Microsoft co-founder believes instead that it is best to focus on how to use AI developments rather than halting it.
This opinion is in contrast to the open letter last week signed by Elon Musk and other prominent AI experts that has sparked debate about the future of AI. The letter called for a halt on systems “more powerful” than Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s GPT-4 which can hold conversations, compose songs, and summarise long documents. AI experts, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, argued that the potential risks and benefits to society must be analysed first.
Gates points out the difficulties in enforcing a pause on AI development, as it would be difficult to get an agreement from all countries worldwide. He has been a vocal supporter of AI and in a blog called “The Age of AI has Begun” which was published right before the open letter, he expressed his view that AI advancements should be used to also reduce some of the world’s worst disparities.
The discussion around AI has been reignited due to Microsoft’s large investments to outpace its peers through OpenAI and surrounding technology. OpenAI is an artificially intelligent robot that can think and learn like humans, perform data analysis, and even create realistic images and videos.
Microsoft is a technology company that was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975. It is a giant tech giant that has created Windows, Office Suite, gaming console Xbox, cloud computing technology Azure, and mobile phones and tablets. Microsoft is one of the most valuable publicly traded companies in the world with an estimated market value of over $1 trillion.
Bill Gates is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and technology pioneer. He co-founded Microsoft with Paul Allen and revolutionized the way people use technology. He left Microsoft in 2008 and dedicated himself to philanthropy through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He is one of the wealthiest people in the world with a current reported net worth of $124 billion.
