Under the partnership, OpenAI services will run on Microsoft’s cloud computing service Azure, which will be used by the former to continue its work on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), a human-like AI that can learn and perform varied tasks like humans, or maybe even better than them. With this deal, Microsoft is also now OpenAI’s ‘preferred partner’ for developing commercial AI technologies, the companies said in a statement on Monday. The core focus of the partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI is to build new supercomputing technologies, that will help all of humanity and benefit society. “The creation of AGI will be the most important technological development in human history, with the potential to shape the trajectory of humanity,” said Sam Altman, co-founder, and chief executive of OpenAI, said in a news release. He also emphasized that AGI should be implemented in a safe, secure and trustworthy way and that the economic benefits should be spread widely. “Our mission is to ensure that AGI technology benefits all of humanity, and we’re working with Microsoft to build the supercomputing foundation on which we’ll build AGI. We believe it’s crucial that AGI is deployed safely and securely and that its economic benefits are widely distributed. We are excited about how deeply Microsoft shares this vision.” Speaking on the partnership, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft said, “AI is one of the most transformative technologies of our time and has the potential to help solve many of our world’s most pressing challenges. By bringing together OpenAI’s breakthrough technology with new Azure AI supercomputing technologies, our ambition is to democratize AI — while always keeping AI safety front and center — so everyone can benefit.” Both the companies are looking to use the technology to address issues in climate change, healthcare, education, and other major problems. “We want AGI to work with people to solve currently intractable multi-disciplinary problems, including global challenges such as climate change, affordable and high-quality healthcare, and personalised education. We think its impact should be to give everyone economic freedom to pursue what they find most fulfilling, creating new opportunities for all of our lives that are unimaginable today,” OpenAI wrote in a blog post.
