Satya Nadella pumps the brakes on the AGI race to deliver "real-world impact" as OpenAI's Sam Altman eyes self-replication

Generative AI keeps on evolving and advancing, scaling greater heights that are increasingly becoming difficult to fathom. While it is impossible to tell which direction the technology will take, most AI labs are seemingly fixated on one thing: AGI (artificial general intelligence).

For context, AGI is an AI system that surpasses human intelligence. However, Microsoft's approach to AI is seemingly different, at least according to CEO Satya Nadella.

During a recent interview, the executive indicated that he is less concerned about AGI. Instead, his focus is centered on using the next-gen technology to deliver real-world impact (via vitrupo on X).

Interestingly, Microsoft is arguably OpenAI's largest investor with a $13.5 billion stake, though SoftBank is also contending for the top spot, especially after leading the ChatGPT maker's latest round of funding, where it raised $40 billion, pushing the AI firm's market capitalization to $300 billion.

According to Satya Nadella:

"I think we as a society celebrate tech companies far too much versus the impact of technology. But honestly, if there was a more balanced way to talk about the use of technology instead of the tech industry."

Nadella talked about the amount of time spent developing technology that makes an impact on society, referencing Copilot's contributions in education. He further indicated that he joined the tech industry to deliver real impact to society using technology.

"The tech industry became the place we were celebrating ourselves and I just hate it," Nadella added.

What does Sam Altman think about AGI?

Microsoft's AI vision is seemingly tied to OpenAI because it predominantly depends on the ChatGPT maker's tech and models to power its AI advances. However, recent reports suggest that "the best techbromance in history" is fraying, with OpenAI building data centers across the United States to power its sophisticated advances via its exorbitant $500 billion Stargate project.

In the same breath, Microsoft is also developing its own in-house AI models and testing third-party models in Copilot. However, Microsoft's AI CEO, Mustafa Suleyman, indicated that the company's models might be 3 to 6 months behind OpenAI's latest entries.

He indicated that the company's strategy was to play a close second to OpenAI, citing that it would be cheaper.

Interestingly, a separate report suggested that Microsoft pulled out of two mega data center deals because it doesn't want to facilitate additional ChatGPT training support. However, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman indicated that the company was no longer compute-constrained.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff predicted that Microsoft won't use OpenAI's technology in the future following the ChatGPT maker's $500 billion Stargate announcement. However, Satya Nadella indicated that Microsoft is still committed to its AI vision and has already invested approximately $80 billion to build data centers by 2025.

Last year, Sam Altman indicated that OpenAI is well-versed in developing and achieving AGI, further claiming that the company is shifting its focus to superintelligence. He further indicated that AGI would be achieved within the next 5 years, though it would whoosh by with surprisingly little societal impact.

However, he recently shared a different account on X (formerly Twitter), indicating:

"I think we should stop arguing about what year AGI will arrive and start arguing about what year the first self-replicating spaceship will take off."

This news comes after Google's DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis indicated that we're on the verge of achieving the coveted AGI benchmark. However, he warned that society isn't ready to handle all that it entails, and the prospects keep him up at night.