Considering how the AI industry tries to use technology-related advances to engage with end users, Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella has some advice.
As Microsoft’s chief executive, Nadella has captured attention by expressing his view on AI. In a Bloomberg Television interview, he said that he does not like to compare AI to human personalities but considers it a tool.
Nadella’s comments are timely, given Open AI’s recent demonstration of a personal assistant that can mimic human reactions and behavior, including singing, laughing, and talking. This has reignited a familiar conversation within the tech industry over how best to humanize AIs and how much should be done.
Many firms are all about making AI ‘super helpful and super useful,’ but what OpenAI has shown this year was a flirtatious, emotional voice assistant. This has been compared to an element in the futuristic movie “Her,” especially after Scarlett Johansson, who was rumored to star in an OpenAI project, narrated the program as if it were a similar life-like feature.
Nadella also cautioned that users must remember that AI intelligence is nothing compared to human intelligence. He said, “It has got intelligence if you want to give it that moniker, but it’s not the same intelligence I have.” He complained again about the term “artificial intelligence,” noting that “different intelligence” would sound way better.
Nadella seems as intent as anyone on ensuring that AI stays in its place—a useful device rather than an entity that can become the center of human emotions. Given the advancement in technology, this approach may help form society’s opinions and pave the way for acceptance of complex artificial intelligent systems moving forward.
