In an interview with Bloomberg’s The Circuit with Emily Chang, the CEOS of Microsoft and OpenAI talked about AI and just how big it will be.
Microsoft’s found and then-CEO Bill Gates famously sent a memo in 1995 outlining how important he thought the internet would ultimately be, calling it a “tidal wave” that would impact Microsoft’s entire operation.
Current CEO, Satya Nadella, made clear he believes AI is poised to have the same effect:
“The Bill memo in 1995, it does feel like that to me,” Nadella said in the interview. “I think it’s as big.”
Nadella was also frank about expectations regarding AI and its future:
“We in the tech industry are classic experts at overhyping everything,” the Microsoft CEO said. “What motivates me is I want to use this technology to truly do what I think at least all of us are in tech for, which is democratizing access to it.”
Meanwhile, in the same interview, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman touted the relationship with Microsoft, and especially that the relationship is bucking the traditional expectations of such arrangements:
“We have a great relationship,” OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman said on The Circuit. “These big, major partnerships between tech companies usually don’t work. This is an example of it working really well. We’re super grateful for it.”
Altman also dismissed concerns that Microsoft’s back could lead the AI firm to an overwhelming lead in the industry, much as Microsoft carved out strangleholds in various sectors in the 1990s:
“This is not only a competitive environment, but I think this is probably the most competitive environment in tech right now,” he said.