AI is at a funny stage. Everyone is talking about it and many are claiming to have it deployed in their App architecture. We seem to have jumped from concept – Remember AI beating a Korean champion at GO in 2018. At the time AI was predicted to become somewhat mainstream in 10 – 20 years.
Here are some news snippets from last few days with my early conclusion following.
… #AI #MicrosoftAI #openAI
Here we are only 5 years later with OpenAI (Peter Thiel and Elon Musk) and we are already seeing predictable AI promotion along with doubts, such as John Tapper at the FT;
https://www.ft.com/content/86e64b4c-a754-47d6-999c-fcc54f62fb5d
But ChatGPT is also like some people I know: it can turn sketchy information into fluent and convincing answers. It sounds right even when it is making things up on the basis of something it read somewhere, which was itself regurgitated from other sources. Its smooth, articulate voice is usually persuasive, but cannot be relied on fully.
…
But it must be deployed carefully, and there’s the rub. ChatGPT is like an urbane, overconfident version of Wikipedia or Google search: useful as a starting point but not for complete answers.
—
Semafor
Dina Bass10 January 2023 at 09:36 GMT-5
https://www.semafor.com/article/01/09/2023/microsoft-eyes-10-billion-bet-on-chatgpt
Microsoft Corp. is in discussions to invest as much as $10 billion in OpenAI, the creator of viral artificial intelligence bot ChatGPT, according to people familiar with its plans.
The proposal under consideration calls for the Redmond, Washington-based software giant to put the money in over multiple years, though the final terms may change, the people said, asking not to be named discussing a private matter. The two companies have been discussing the deal for months, they added.
Semaphore earlier reported that the potential investment would involve other venture firms and could value OpenAI at about $29 billion, citing people familiar with the talks. Documents sent to investors had targeted end-2022 for a deal closing, it added.
—
Bloomberg
are reporting Microsoft are in negotiations to invest in ChatGBT.
Bloomberg
Microsoft Considers $10 Billion Investment in ChatGPT Creator
ChatGPT has crowned a year of advances for AI applications OpenAI already working on next generation of technology
Semafor
Dina Bass10 January 2023 at 09:36 GMT-5
Microsoft Corp. is in discussions to invest as much as $10 billion in OpenAI, the creator of viral artificial intelligence bot ChatGPT, according to people familiar with its plans.
The proposal under consideration calls for the Redmond, Washington-based software giant to put the money in over multiple years, though the final terms may change, the people said, asking not to be named discussing a private matter. The two companies have been discussing the deal for months, they added.
Semafor earlier reported that the potential investment would involve other venture firms and could value OpenAI at about $29 billion, citing people familiar with the talks. Documents sent to investors had targeted end-2022 for a deal closing, it added.
Microsoft and OpenAI representatives declined to comment. Microsoft shares rose 1.3% Tuesday morning in New York to $230.04.
Semafor – continued
ChatGPT has lit up the internet since launching at the end of November, gathering its first million users in less than a week. Its imitation of human conversation sparked speculation about its potential to supplant professional writers and even threaten Google’s core search business. The organization behind it, co-founded by Elon Musk and Silicon Valley investor Sam Altman, makes money by charging developers to license its technology.
The new technology is built on OpenAI’s GPT-3 language model and comes at the end of a year of headline-grabbing advances in AI. The company’s Dall-E image-generating model — which accepts written prompts to synthesize art and other images — also gave rise to a broad debate about the infusion of AI into creative industries. OpenAI is already working on a successor GPT-4 model for its natural language processing.
Read more about ChatGPT – Google
EXPLAINER: ChatGPT — Eloquent Robot or Misinformation Machine?
Does ChatGPT Mark the Start of the AI Revolution?: Editorial
Microsoft Hopes OpenAI’s Chatbot Will Make Bing Smarter
Microsoft has previously invested about $1 billion in OpenAI. It’s also working to add ChatGPT to its Bing search engine, seeking an edge on Alphabet Inc.’s dominant search offering. The bot is capable of responding to queries in a natural and humanlike manner, carrying on a conversation and answering follow-up questions, unlike the basic set of links that a Google search provides.
Still, concern about its accuracy — which Altman himself has said is not good enough for the bot to be relied on — has prompted caution about its premature use, and New York City schools have banned its students from accessing ChatGPT.
WSJ reports
OpenAI released a series of artificial intelligence-based products last year that captured the public’s attention, including the image-generation program Dall-E 2 and chatbot ChatGPT. If the tender goes through at that valuation, OpenAI would be one of the few startups able to raise money at higher valuations in the private market, where investors have pulled back from new deals given last year’s technology rout.
Microsoft Corp. has also been in advanced talks to increase its investment in OpenAI, the Journal reported. In 2019, Microsoft invested $1 billion in OpenAI and became its preferred partner for commercializing new technologies for services like search engine Bing and design app Microsoft Design.
Semafor concludes
https://www.semafor.com/article/01/09/2023/microsoft-eyes-10-billion-bet-on-chatgpt
But there was more to it than that. As I delved further into the news, I realized that this investment was about much more than just research. It was about positioning.
Microsoft, like many other tech giants, was laser-focused on the future of AI. They knew that the companies that controlled the technology would have a significant advantage in the years to come. By investing in OpenAI, they were positioning themselves at the forefront of this revolution.
Relevance to Bankwatch
Microsoft is well positioned to take advantage of future investment in AI. They have a locked in business customer base through their enterprise licensing arrangements and have the cash to provide patience to work with the OpenAI team who are out of money.
Microsoft have investment in Azure cloud running Microsoft OS and banks on Azure will be willing participants. Banks not yet on Azure are mainly running Unix derivatives and will be harder to incorporate.
OpenAI isa good platform for AI predicated on minimising human intervention.although that aspect is not clearly defined in ChatGBT.
Microsoft are well positioned to gain against Apple and Google in natural language AI although it will be interesting to see how they approach it.
Bankwatch 