Bill Gates claims to devote “10%” of his time to discussing Artificial Intelligence with Microsoft teams
He explains on the sidelines of a Forbes interview that AI has the same potential as PCs and the Internet in the history of Microsoft.
The firm, in which he no longer has an official role, would have taken a 49% stake in OpenAI, which publishes ChatGPT, according to several sources
In 2023, one would have thought that Microsoft would be far from Bill Gates – the former leader of the company is enjoying a rather active retirement, and devotes a good part of his time to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. However, the impressive technological demonstration that constitutes ChatGPT pushes Bill Gates to walk the corridors of the headquarters of the Redmond firm.
Microsoft's co-founder says on the sidelines of a Forbes interview that he spends 10% of his time with the firm's R&D teams. It is of course a question of talking about AI, and of following (and probably also of influencing a little) the development of future major projects that the firm is preparing on the subject.
Bill Gates haunts the halls of Microsoft again to push AI
After missing the smartphone revolution under Steve Ballmer, Satya Nadella's Microsoft has chosen to invest heavily in OpenIA, which has been shaking the web for several months with ChatGPT. The firm currently holds a 49% stake in OpenIA according to sources close to the industry – which would allow it to better take advantage of the expertise of the startup to improve its products.
One of the great potential beneficiaries of OpenIA technology will undoubtedly be the Bing search engine, which has never really been able to find its audience so far. Technology similar to ChatGPT could also improve the Windows operating system, delivering more intuitive AI-powered usability. Or even allow the firm to significantly reduce its costs related to customer relations.
That being said, according to Bill Gates, it is difficult for the moment to grasp the extent of what is to come: “AI is going to be the hottest topic of 2023. And you know what? It is deserved. AI is precisely as important as the PC has been, as the internet has been”. In any case, the growth of ChatGPT commands respect: the service very easily passed the 100 million user mark, faster than TikTok or Instagram.
What make an analyst from UBS bank say: “In 20 years of analysis on the web sector, we do not remember that a consumer internet application has grown faster”.