According to Bill Gates, the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be just as important as the creation of the internet and mobile phones. Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, believes that the AI tools developed by OpenAI are one of the two revolutionary technologies he has encountered in his life.
Gates believes that AI will change the way people work, learn, travel, receive healthcare, and communicate with each other. Entire industries will reorient themselves around AI, and companies will be distinguished by how well they use it. However, Gates also warned of the need to be cautious so that AI does not become opposed to humans.
Gates has been meeting with the OpenAI team since 2016 and challenged them last year to train their system to pass a biology exam. It only took a few months for the AI model known as ChatGPT to get an A in a university-level biology course.
OpenAI, now backed by an additional $10 billion investment from Microsoft, recently launched GPT-4, the latest version of a massive AI model that generates text. It can also be used for tasks such as coding and creating images. Gates is inspired by the potential of AI to reduce some of the world's worst inequalities, from healthcare in the developing world to climate change and education.
However, Gates recognizes that the technology poses difficult questions about the workforce, the legal system, privacy, bias, and more. He emphasizes that governments and philanthropy will play a crucial role in ensuring that AI reduces inequity and does not contribute to it.
Moreover, Gates also highlights the threat of "humans armed with AI," and believes that governments must collaborate to establish limits with private companies. He concludes that the alignment of AI with humans or its opposition to people will become more significant questions over time.
