Like many tech giant CEOs, Satya Nadella wants generative AI to be widely adopted across industries. Fans of Microsoft’s products have not been so keen, complaining about the use of AI in Windows, and any plans to utilise it in games released through Xbox.
Nadella has already shared his distaste for the phrase “AI slop”, but he is aware that those who use it will have to be won over – and he also fears that the industry is running out of time to do so. In fact, he says that if gen AI doesn’t become “useful” soon, then companies will “lose even the social permission” to explore the technology.
Microsoft’s Satya Nadella Fears That The Industry Is Running Out Of Time To Normalise Generative AI
As reported by Windows Central, Nadella made these comments at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
“We as even a global community have to get to a point where we are using [AI] to do something useful that changes the outcomes of people and communities,” he says. “Otherwise, I don’t think this makes much sense. In fact, I would say we will quickly lose the social permission to actually take something like energy, which is a scarce resource.”
Indeed, the energy being used to power AI technology is a huge concern for many. Whether it’s worries about the environmental impact or fears that it will drive up the cost of our energy bills, many don’t believe that this is a worthwhile endeavour.
It’s easy to see why. Right now, one of the largest consumer-facing ways to use AI is through ChatGPT, which means we have access to a slower version of Google that feeds us incorrect information, plays into our preconceived biases, and, in some cases, doesn’t do a whole lot to discourage users from forming parasocial relationships with the chatbot. Then, there’s Grok, which just made international headlines for generating nonconsensual sexual images of women and children.
Even putting ethical concerns to one side, many just don’t like the quality of the results. Even though generative AI has, on a technical level, gotten better at copying the art of others, it still has that uncanny AI-feel to it, lacking any humanity. The prospect of our entertainment being “created” like that is not a very welcoming one.
So, expect Microsoft to keep convincing us that we do, actually, want AI. Who knows? Maybe Nadella will one day get his wish, and we’ll stop making fun of AI slop.
- Date Founded
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April 4, 1975
- CEO
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Satya Nadella
- Headquarters
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Redmond, Washington, United States
