Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said that OpenAI’s GPT artificial intelligence model is the most revolutionary technological advance since he first saw a modern graphical desktop environment (GUI) in 1980.
Before the advent of GUIs, people used their computers via the command line. Bill Gates took the “GUI” technology and used it as the basis for the Windows operating system, creating a modern software giant: Microsoft. Now, Bill Gates sees similarities between OpenAI’s GPT model, which can write text similar to human output, and the GUI, which can generate nearly usable computer code.
On Tuesday, Bill Gates wrote in a blog post, “The Age of AI Has Begun,” that last year he challenged the OpenAI team to develop an artificial intelligence model that could pass a biology exam for a college prerequisite course. As a result, OpenAI’s data said the GPT-4, released to the public last week, scored the highest on that exam.
Bill Gates says the AI era has begun
“The whole experience has been astounding. I know I’ve just seen the most important technological advancement since the graphical user interface,” Bill Gates said, adding that “the development of artificial intelligence is as important as the birth of the microprocessor, the personal computer, the Internet and the cell phone. It will change the way people work, learn, travel, access health care and communicate with each other. Entire industries will re-adapt around it. Businesses will differentiate themselves by how they use it.”
Bill Gates suggested that when people talk about AI, they should “balance” their fears of it being biased, wrong or unfriendly with its potential to improve lives. He also argued that governments and philanthropies should support AI tools to improve education and health in developing countries because companies will not necessarily choose to make these investments themselves.
Bill Gates is the latest prominent technologist to see the latest advances in artificial intelligence as a major shift in the technology industry. He joins former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in predicting that data-based machine learning could transform the industry. Current corporate CEOs also see significant opportunities for AI applications and tools. Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said Tuesday that the field is experiencing an “iPhone moment,” referring to the moment when a new technology is widely adopted and entrepreneurs see opportunities for new businesses and products.
Bill Gates, Microsoft and OpenAI, which developed the GPT model, have close ties. Microsoft has invested $10 billion in the startup and sells some of its artificial intelligence software through Azure cloud services.
