Microsoft AI chief warns frontier AI could demand "hundreds of billions" — but vows he'll stop if it ever threatens humanity

It's no secret that pursuing generative AI is an expensive venture; this can be narrowed down to the technology's exorbitant demand for computing power and the talent required to make sophisticated advances.

It's amid emerging claims that scaling laws have begun to stop, preventing top AI labs like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google from developing advanced AI models. Microsoft and OpenAI recently renewed the terms of their multibillion-dollar partnership under a new definitive agreement, which allows the software giant to pursue AGI independently or in collaboration with third parties.

And as it now seems, we might have just gotten a vague idea of what it might cost to keep up with the ever-evolving AI industry.

During a recent episode of the Moonshots with Peter Diamandis podcast, Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman indicated that it will cost "hundreds of billions of dollars" to keep up with frontier AI development over the next 5-10 years. (via Business Insider). "Not to mention the prices that we're paying for individual researchers or members of technical staff," the executive indicated.

Interestingly, the executive compared Microsoft to a "modern construction company" with hundreds of thousands of workers building gigawatts of CPUs and AI accelerators.

The executive indicated that the cost required for frontier AI model development, but admitted that "clearly there's a structural advantage by being inside a big company."

However, Microsoft isn't throwing in the towel on AI anytime soon. According to a leaked internal memo, CEO Satya Nadella is seemingly ushering in a new dawn for Microsoft with a keen focus on intelligence, integration, and AI. The executive admitted that Bill Gates' software factory vision might have worked for decades, but it's no longer enough.

Nadella is reportedly pressuring high-profile executives to work faster and leaner on AI projects or leave the company. Insiders indicated that Microsoft is attempting to fly a sinking ship with "gimmicky" AI tools while other products take a backseat.

Following Microsoft's new agreement with OpenAI, AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman indicated that "Microsoft needs to be self-sufficient in AI. And to do that, we have to train frontier models of all scales with our own data and compute at the state-of-the-art level."

Microsoft has already formed a new MAI Superintelligence team to pursue this feat.

This news comes as investor interest in generative AI has begun waning, as they continue to question the billions plunged into the industry without a clear path for revenue generation.

It will be interesting to see Microsoft venture into its next chapter with a bias in AI despite the capital issues that abound. Mustafa Suleyman also indicated that Microsoft would jump ship on its AI projects if it poses a significant threat to humanity, aligning with his campaign for humanist superintelligence.

Do you think Microsoft will eventually come out on top in AI? Let me know.

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