Adapted by:
Javier Pastor
Senior WriterComputer scientist turned tech journalist. I've written about almost everything related to technology, but I specialize in hardware, operating systems and cryptocurrencies. I like writing about tech so much that I do it both for Xataka and Incognitosis, my personal blog.
Karen Alfaro
WriterCommunications professional with a decade of experience as a copywriter, proofreader, and editor. As a travel and science journalist, I've collaborated with several print and digital outlets around the world. I'm passionate about culture, music, food, history, and innovative technologies.
“Show me the money!” That’s what Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wants—AI developments to generate significant revenue. Both Microsoft and OpenAI have been talking about this recently. For these companies, the definition of artificial general intelligence (AGI) is directly tied to profitability. They argue that AGI isn’t truly AGI until it generates $100 billion in profit. Nadella is now using this argument to highlight that AI systems haven’t revolutionized anything yet.
No AGI at all. In a recent interview with podcaster Dwarkesh Patel, Nadella made critical statements about the current state of AI development. He noted, “For us to claim that we’ve reached a milestone in AGI is just to hack the tests to make them meaningless,” meaning benchmarks have become more important than they should be.
No revolution either. The best metric for measuring AI’s success is simple: It should increase a country’s gross domestic product.
“The first thing we all have to do is, when we say this is like the Industrial Revolution, let’s have Industrial Revolution-type growth. That means 10%, 7%, developed world, inflation-adjusted, growing at 5%. That’s the real marker. It can’t just be supply-side.”
AI systems need a “killer app.” Nadella said this growth hasn’t happened yet because most users don’t understand how to use AI systems effectively. The same thing happened with personal computers. It took time for them to find their place and demonstrate their potential.
Excel and email are two examples. Nadella recalled that before PCs, email, and spreadsheets, business forecasting was almost hand-crafted. “Faxes went around. Somebody got those faxes and did an interoffice memo that went around. People entered numbers, and then ultimately a forecast came, maybe just in time for the next quarter.” But then Excel and email revolutionized that process and many others. “That is what needs to happen with AI being introduced into knowledge work,” Nadella stated.
AI developments will supercharge productivity. The debate about AI’s impact on work continues, but Nadella believes the technology will help the world in extraordinary ways. It will allow workers to focus on high-value tasks rather than routine ones that can be automated. He joked about how much time he spends filtering his email and said eliminating that task would be an enormous gain in productivity.
AI systems don’t just fail to make money—they lose it. Most large companies building AI systems and language models are losing money. OpenAI is a prime example, burning cash at a staggering rate. However, it’s also the best positioned to win this race.
But this is a gamble—probably the biggest in history. The colossal investments from Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Google prove it. These companies are pouring tens of billions into AI-focused data centers, even though profitability remains uncertain. They believe AI will be worth it, and they’re betting big.
Image | OFFICIAL LEWEB PHOTOS
Log in to leave a comment