Microsoft has just dropped an eye-watering $1 billion investment into to OpenAI, a company founded by Elon Musk back in 2016 that's looking to replicate and perhaps even improve on the capabilities of the human brain. I've seen enough science fiction movies to know that this isn't going to end well for any of us, but there's nothing I can do so I might as well strap in and welcome our impending robot overlords.
Ironically, Musk has since stepped away from the company he founded after he decided that AI technology could pose more a threat to the human race than nuclear weaponry. That seems to me to be the kind of thing you'd consider before you found a company dedicated to the creation and implementation of AI, but what do I know? Very little compared to Musk, to be fair.
The Independent reports that Microsoft's generous (or foolish depending on your outlook) investment will go towards the creation of AGI - that's Artificial General Intelligence.
Advert
OpenAI has announced that Microsoft's hefty investment will be going towards the creation of AGI - artificial general intelligence. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has claimed that the creation of AGI "will be the most important technological development in human history, with the potential to shape the trajectory of humanity." People said the same thing about the internet, but now all we have is porn and arguments about Star Wars on a larger scale than ever before.
"Our mission is to ensure that AGI technology benefits all of humanity, and we're working with Microsoft to build the supercomputing foundation on which we'll build AGI," Altman continued.
Meanwhile, in a blog post written by OpenAI CTO Greg Brockman explains that "an AGI working on a problem would be able to see connections across disciplines that no human could. We want AGI to work with people to solve currently intractable multi-disciplinary problems, including global challenges such as climate change, affordable and high-quality healthcare, and personalised education."
It's often said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I would imagine that, similarly, the road to a world in which you're forced to bare-knuckle box for the entertainment of your toaster is paved with $1 billion investments from tech giants. Then again, I've been told I tend to catastrophise, so what the hell do I know? This could be the first step to a brighter tomorrow.*
Advert
*It won't be though.
Featured Image Credit: Microsoft/Sony