Microsoft's Pioneering Attempts to Generate Revenue from AI Highlighted by ChatGPT

The recent success of OpenAI's ChatGPT has caused a surge of enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, with Microsoft Corp. MSFT 0.06% being at the forefront of the movement.

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This company is taking a leading role in what many consider to be the next stage of technological advancement. Microsoft and other companies face the challenge of transforming this new and still imperfect technology into a profitable venture. Last week, a software company announced that they were investing billions of dollars into OpenAI. This startup has been gaining a lot of attention lately due to their chatbot, which can quickly answer complex questions, generate book reports, and even compose poetry.

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At the beginning of this month, Microsoft took steps to encourage the use of a certain technology by allowing any business to access it through their Azure cloud-computing platform. Last week, Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella declared that the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has arrived and that the company is at the forefront of this revolution.

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Generative AI, which is capable of producing unique outputs based on language prompts, has become a popular source of entertainment. ChatGPT, released in November, has attracted millions of users, while OpenAI's Dall-E 2, which creates images, has been widely shared online. ChatGPT is a disruptive business that is still in its early stages. AI researchers have identified several issues with the platform, such as its high cost of operation and slow speed. Additionally, it has been noted that ChatGPT sometimes produces responses that contain fabricated information. Gary Marcus, the creator of the machine-learning company Geometric Intelligence, noted that even as OpenAI releases newer versions of GPT, the issue of incorrect information will remain.

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Mr. Marcus posed the question, "If this technology won't address these issues, what can be done with these systems that aren't accurate?"
OpenAI did not provide a response when asked for a comment. Sam Altman, the company's CEO, has stated that ChatGPT is not a perfect technology, but that it will improve. Last month, Altman tweeted: "It is a mistake to rely on it for anything important at this time. It is a demonstration of progress; however, there is still much work to be done to ensure its robustness and accuracy."

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Microsoft chose not to respond to worries about the technology. At a Wall Street Journal panel at the 2023 World Economic Forum event in Davos, Switzerland, Mr. Nadella stated that ChatGPT's issues are able to be solved. "This is not exclusive to AI," he said. "It is true for any other type of software today."
In 2020, Microsoft unveiled GitHub Copilot, a feature within its code-collaboration platform GitHub. Utilizing OpenAI technology, the tool assists developers in creating and troubleshooting computer code. Microsoft estimates that when enabled, Copilot contributes to 40% of the code in files. Numerous programmers have expressed that it has become an invaluable asset.

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AI users have noted that this type of technology is most effective when used in conjunction with professionals for specific tasks. They have observed that the recent progress the technology has made in a short period of time demonstrates how any remaining issues can be quickly resolved.

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Ben Firshman, the co-founder of the AI infrastructure startup Replicate, remarked that he has never seen anything progress as quickly as it is currently.
Satya Nadella has been praising the technology as a revolutionary development in the tech world. He has discussed the possibility of incorporating OpenAI's inventions into Microsoft's products. The firm has already incorporated OpenAI's technology into its Bing search engine and graphical-design software, such as Microsoft Designer. It has been suggested by some experts that Artificial Intelligence-driven searches could give Microsoft's Bing search engine an edge in the market, potentially allowing it to take away market share from Alphabet Inc.'s Google, which currently holds around 90% of the market.

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Rishi Jaluria, an analyst for RBC Capital Markets, commented that if Microsoft were to become a competitive search engine, it would be a different type of business.
Google was the first to introduce some of the AI technology, but their tools weren't as accessible to the public. They are now attempting to make up for lost time.
Microsoft could potentially gain a more immediate advantage from its Azure cloud-computing service. By promoting Azure as the optimal platform for generative AI, more companies may be encouraged to use the technology.

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At the Davos event, Mr. Nadella explained that Microsoft plans to capitalize on their AI capabilities through Azure, their cloud platform. He noted that Azure has become the go-to place for anyone looking to use AI.

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Meta Platforms Inc. and Salesforce Inc. are both utilizing AI tools in their development. Smaller companies have been testing OpenAI's technology to create products and services on Microsoft's cloud. Microsoft has reported that 200 customers have registered to use OpenAI's tools since it became available for broader use recently.
Yoodli, a Seattle-based business that produces speech-coaching software, was one of the first to embrace the technology. They use a version of ChatGPT, known as GPT-3, to assess a speaker's words and determine if they are straying from the subject.

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Varun Puri, the Chief Executive Officer of Yoodli, declared that the integration of OpenAI's generative AI technology into Yoodli's existing programs has made their services more comprehensive and enabled them to develop new features at a quicker rate. He stated that their original plan was to create an AI-driven speech coach, using their own data set. However, the use of generative AI has increased the potential of this project by a factor of 100.

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Since OpenAI unveiled GPT-3 in 2020, startups have been taking advantage of the technology. Those who have employed it have reported that it can be both beneficial and challenging.

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There are some concerns about the technology, such as the possibility of it producing inaccurate results with a high degree of certainty. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as a "hallucination." This has relegated the technology to more of a supplementary component than a fundamental product. AI-enabled capabilities are usually presented as aides for experts.

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Lexion, a startup, has implemented GPT-3 to help customers create and revise legal documents. The founders of the company have stated that the product is best used to assist a lawyer, not to replace one. Unfortunately, the software can sometimes generate incorrect contractual language, which must be double-checked to ensure accuracy.

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Gaurav Oberoi, CEO of Lexion, expressed his confusion regarding the output of the system, saying, "We don't have a clear understanding of why it produced the output or how it did so. This is a common issue with hallucinations."