OpenAI Nets $10 Billion Investment from Microsoft
Artificial intelligence provider collects massive influx of cash
OpenAI recently garnered an additional long-term financial commitment from Redmond and, at the same time, made it very clear that MS views their particular offerings and partnership possibilities as superb if not near transformative given the vibes trickling out of the corridors east of Lake Washington.
Microsoft has already written checks in the amount of about $3 billion to support the text, imaging, and other media offerings that are being built and distributed by OpenAI, and there is a clear goal path of incorporating this technology across numerous platforms despite recent layoffs and spending purges in other areas of the organization.
Initial usage seems fairly clear…
Microsoft will undoubtedly seek to implement properties such as ChatGPT into their search and Office offerings. The manner in which this will lead to significant improvements is hard to overstate given even a cursory glance at their current approach and future plans. Perhaps most importantly, the clear message was put out by the company that Azure-related technologies and applications will receive the full AI treatment as well with a plethora of potential results that could rapidly transform productivity and usage in a fashion not yet seen.
Costs
The monetary requirements associated with powering these latest iterations of artificial intelligence are, as one would expect, exceptionally high. Hardware outlays alone will certainly run into the hundreds of millions, while training, development, and maintenance will eat up a large chunk of cash on a very regular basis. Of equal importance is how much pressure will be applied to OpenAI to turn a profit. One would have to imagine there will be a fair amount of slack given here as MS seeks to ramp up and fill out their already well-established core offerings.
Legal ramifications
There are any number of potential difficulties that this emerging technology will certainly encounter in the short and long terms. The following list is far from all-inclusive and can’t begin to encompass all possible known and unknown factors that will arise, but it may serve as a basic primer of expectations as the company gears up these product enhancements.
• Intellectual property/copyright/trademark infringement. A number of cases have already been filed claiming that the rights of numerous artists and creators have been infringed upon. Of equal importance will be whether or not seemingly unique output generated by these platforms may be decorated with a copyright tag despite the fact that their base information was gleaned from sources that may ultimately throw spikes in this path.
• Privacy, security, and compliance. The potential difficulties here as it pertains to communications and personal data alone are countless.
• Will courts decide that the creators of these systems can be sued for libel, slander, or additional courses of action?
