Satya Nadella says Elon Musk is factually incorrect about Microsoft controlling ChatGPT maker OpenAI
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella clarified that Microsoft has a non-controlling interest in OpenAI as it is being controlled by a nonprofit organisation
- May 17, 2023,
- Updated May 17, 2023 2:15 PM IST
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has stated that Elon Musk is 'factually incorrect' about his statement saying Microsoft controls ChatGPT maker OpenAI. Nadella, in an interview with CNBC, clarified that Microsoft has a non-controlling interest in OpenAI as it is being controlled by a non-profit organisation.
Twitter and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently stated in an interview with CNBC, “I do worry that Microsoft actually may be more in control than, say, the leadership team at OpenAI realizes. I mean, Microsoft, as part of Microsoft’s investment, they have rights to all of the software, all of the model weights, and everything necessary to run the inference system."
Following Musk’s interview, Microsoft CEO addressed Musk’s claims and stated that although he has a lot of respect for Musk, he is incorrect. Nadella said, "Look, while I have a lot of respect for Elon and all that he does, I’d just say that’s factually not correct. OpenAI is very grounded in its mission of being controlled by a non-profit board. We have a non-controlling interest in it. We have a great commercial partnership in it."
OpenAI and Microsoft
Notably, OpenAI was founded in 2015 as a nonprofit organisation that got restructured in 2019 making it a “capped-profit” entity called OpenAI LP. This system restricts the first investors from making more money than 100 times their money, with lower returns for later investors like Microsoft.
Microsoft invested in OpenAI in January 2023 and since then it has been integrating OpenAI’s technology like GPT-4 across its products.
Nadella believes that AI development is going fast but it is important for Microsoft to capitalise on the tech and its promises. He stated, “If anything, I feel, yes, it’s moving fast, but moving fast in the right direction. Humans are in the loop versus being out of the loop. It’s a design choice, which, at least, we have made.”
In addition to this, Elon Musk also said that he is the reason why OpenAI even exists. As per his statement to CNBC, “Fate loves irony. So I used to be close friends with Larry Page, and I would stay at his house, and we'd have these conversations long into the evening about AI... And at the time, Google, especially after their acquisition of DeepMind, had three-quarters of the world's AI talent... but the person who controls that just did not seem to be concerned about AI safety. That sounds like a real problem."
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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has stated that Elon Musk is 'factually incorrect' about his statement saying Microsoft controls ChatGPT maker OpenAI. Nadella, in an interview with CNBC, clarified that Microsoft has a non-controlling interest in OpenAI as it is being controlled by a non-profit organisation.
Twitter and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently stated in an interview with CNBC, “I do worry that Microsoft actually may be more in control than, say, the leadership team at OpenAI realizes. I mean, Microsoft, as part of Microsoft’s investment, they have rights to all of the software, all of the model weights, and everything necessary to run the inference system."
Following Musk’s interview, Microsoft CEO addressed Musk’s claims and stated that although he has a lot of respect for Musk, he is incorrect. Nadella said, "Look, while I have a lot of respect for Elon and all that he does, I’d just say that’s factually not correct. OpenAI is very grounded in its mission of being controlled by a non-profit board. We have a non-controlling interest in it. We have a great commercial partnership in it."
OpenAI and Microsoft
Notably, OpenAI was founded in 2015 as a nonprofit organisation that got restructured in 2019 making it a “capped-profit” entity called OpenAI LP. This system restricts the first investors from making more money than 100 times their money, with lower returns for later investors like Microsoft.
Microsoft invested in OpenAI in January 2023 and since then it has been integrating OpenAI’s technology like GPT-4 across its products.
Nadella believes that AI development is going fast but it is important for Microsoft to capitalise on the tech and its promises. He stated, “If anything, I feel, yes, it’s moving fast, but moving fast in the right direction. Humans are in the loop versus being out of the loop. It’s a design choice, which, at least, we have made.”
In addition to this, Elon Musk also said that he is the reason why OpenAI even exists. As per his statement to CNBC, “Fate loves irony. So I used to be close friends with Larry Page, and I would stay at his house, and we'd have these conversations long into the evening about AI... And at the time, Google, especially after their acquisition of DeepMind, had three-quarters of the world's AI talent... but the person who controls that just did not seem to be concerned about AI safety. That sounds like a real problem."
Also Read:
What careers to choose in the era of ChatGPT-like AI? Elon Musk answers
Google to delete Gmail accounts that haven’t been active, but should you worry?
For Unparalleled coverage of India's Businesses and Economy – Subscribe to Business Today Magazine