Microsoft CEO Calls AI the Biggest Opportunity, Disagrees with Musk's Doomsday Predictions
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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently received the 2023 Axel Springer Award and engaged in an in-depth interview with Axel Springer CEO Mathias Dopfner at the company's German headquarters.
When asked where he sees Microsoft's greatest potential, Nadella responded: "For me, our biggest opportunity is artificial intelligence. Just as cloud computing transformed all software categories, we believe AI represents a similarly transformative shift. Whether it's search or our Office software, the way I create documents, spreadsheets, or consume information is undergoing fundamental changes. The concept of copilots we're introducing will be revolutionary in driving productivity and communication. The same applies to software development. In fact, the enhancement of human work - whether frontline or knowledge work - through AI copilots will be the most significant transformation."
Dopfner asked: "Elon Musk has said he might fear AI more than nuclear weapons. Do you agree?"
Nadella's answer was negative: "The issue is it's easy to start thinking about self-improving, self-replicating software as something completely beyond your control. At the very least, it's an area where you begin to entertain some frightening thoughts. My personal feeling is that ultimately, we have many ways to address this with built-in controls. Look at cars. You could say cars could be like gods - they could be everywhere, running people over, causing accidents. Yet we've established numerous regulations and safety standards. While many people die in car accidents, we've been able to utilize this technology very effectively. So I hope we can do the same with AI rather than treating it solely as an existential risk."
Dopfner also asked about Microsoft's $65 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard and why this deal was so important to Microsoft.
Nadella responded: "Yes, but we're genuinely excited. For us, this connects to our company's history. Gaming is one of those things, right? When I think of Microsoft, I think of developer tools, proprietary software, and gaming. These are three things we've done from the beginning. So for us, gaming is an area where we believe we can make real contributions in the consumer market. If I look closely, I see people spending increasing time on gaming, with Gen Z spending even more. The way games are made and distributed is undergoing fundamental changes - whether on mobile, console, PC, or even cloud. So we look forward to being both game creators and publishers. Now we'll become one of the largest game publishers while also being a company that develops platforms for gaming."