Microsoft-backed AI tool replaces crypto as Davos’ hot tech topic

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OpenAI logo seen on screen with the ChatGPT website displayed on mobile seen in this illustration in Brussels, Belgium on December 12, 2022.

Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Attendees at the annual World Economic Forum couldn’t get enough of a new development in artificial intelligence: generative AI.

Priya Lakhani, CEO of online learning platform Century, said educators flocked to social media moments after the release of ChatGPT to talk about AI and how it could affect the learning industry. ‘education.

“It’s really amazing actually. What I’ve seen through conversations on social media is that there are educators who see it as a catalyst, and that’s fascinating,” Lakhani said. during a WEF panel discussing the potential and pitfalls of generative AI.

“They’ve overcome digital fatigue after the pandemic, they’re into technology, they’re using learning management systems, virtual learning environments, and they’re thinking, OK, how can we use this and how can we use it as a catalyst for different contacts.”

Most machine learning tools rely on existing information and identify patterns in the data to identify trends or reach a preferred outcome. Recommendation algorithms on social apps like Facebook and TikTok serve ads to users based on their browsing behavior.

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Dall-E stand out from the crowd with their ability to take data inputs and create new content. People have used technology to generate everything from academic essays to works of art.

Using services like Lensa AI to turn selfies into a variety of sci-fi and anime-inspired avatars has also proven popular.

Generative AI has big implications for how children learn, Lakhani said, adding that the technology has also increased the risk of cheating and plagiarism.

“So you get the skeptics who are absolutely terrified, right?” she says. “They’re terrified because they think, wait, kids are going to cheat on their homework. That has real-world implications.”

AI the new crypto?

This week at the WEF forum in Davos, Switzerland, generative AI all but replaced crypto and the so-called “Web3” as the technology of choice for business executives and policy makers.

Crypto firms took over at Davos last year, but were less present at the conference with flashy storefronts since the 2022 market wipeout, save for a single flashy orange bitcoin car.

“Generative AI has enormous potential,” said Hiroaki Kitano, CEO of Sony Computer Science Laboratories, during Tuesday’s Generative AI panel.

“It’s not just something that happens all of a sudden. We have a long history of deep learning,” Kitano said. “It’s like a continuous evolution of AI capability.”

Microsoft is reportedly betting billions on generative AI in hopes that it will transform its business and others as well. Last week, news site Semafor reported that the company plans to invest $10 billion in ChatGPT creator OpenAI in a deal valuing the company at $29 billion.

Microsoft had previously invested $1 billion in Open AI, which was founded in 2015 by tech entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Sam Altman.

Not everyone is convinced by the billions suddenly circulating in generative AI.

Jim Breyer, founder and CEO of Breyer Capital, said Microsoft’s investment in Open AI was good for the company from a strategic perspective, but he thinks the Redmond-based tech giant is paying too much.

“It’s a sign of foam to me. It’s a strategic deal for Microsoft, and they’re going to catch up to Google and others quickly,” Breyer told CNBC’s Sara Eisen on Thursday.

“However, I cannot justify the valuation as a private investor.”

Microsoft’s multi-billion dollar gamble

It’s easy to see why Microsoft is excited. ChatGPT has shown its ability to come up with more creative responses than tools that mostly produce generic responses to user queries.

Take, for example, someone who wants to know what to do for their child’s birthday party. ChatGPT could devise a plan for the day, including advice on what kind of cake to buy or what games to play.

In this sense, ChatGPT has been touted as a Google disrupter that users can turn to, instead of heading to the search engine pioneer. The chatbot’s new responses have even raised questions about whether its rationalization process can point to human-like cognition.

Altman admitted ChatGPT’s limitations, tweeting in December that it was “a mistake to rely on it for anything important right now.”

“ChatGPT is incredibly limited, but good enough at some things to create a deceptively large impression,” Altman said at the time.

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ChatGPT limitations include factual errors. Sony’s Kitano also said it was important to recognize these constraints.

“At the same time, we see a lot of limitations. If you ask a specific question to ChatGPT, the answers are sometimes impressive. But if you go into detail, all the factual things may not be so specific,” he said. he declares.

“If you go back and open up the PC and ask about yourself, you see like ‘Oops, I don’t understand’, all sorts of things are going on there.”

Addressing the Dark Side of AI

Without directly confirming the investment on Tuesday, Microsoft chief Brad Smith said generative tools like ChatGPT have already sparked conversations about legal and ethical dilemmas.

“What you really have to start imagining is what are the different ways this technology can be used? How can it be used for good, how can it be used to create challenges?” Smith said Tuesday in a panel moderated by CNBC’s Karen Tso.

One concern is that generative AI could become a desirable weapon for hackers and other malicious actors, such as online disinformation agents.

Researchers from cybersecurity firm Check Point say ChatGPT is already being used by hackers to recreate common malware strains.

“We might find that this will become a more relevant topic as people think about the future of information, potential influence operations, who is creating misinformation and also fighting it,” Smith said.

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