In a trend that analysts describe as worrying, the loses of Microsoft-backed OpenAI skyrocketed to nearly $540 million last year. This tech giant, known for its pioneering ChatGPT chatbot, has apparently been bulking up its HR department, bringing in key personnel from Google and other giants, while raking up costs to maintain their AI models. A subscription service to access the chatbot was recently announced and aimed at stabilizing the losses, however, with the rising demand for ChatGPT services, losses are likely to add up. Meanwhile, industry pundits are debating whether AI-based technologies can bring more harm than benefit, citing warnings from prominent artificial intelligence researcher and ‘godfather of AI’, Geoffrey Hinton, who recently stepped away from his position at Google-parent Alphabet in order to speak more about the potential risks of tech advancements.
OpenAI, the venture originally funded by Elon Musk to the tune of $100 million, brought in the big bucks when the share sale was closed in March 2021, at a reported valuation of between $27-$29 billion. The Twitter CEO tweeted shortly after that big moment that he’d been informed of the forthcoming raises. Unsurprisingly, it has triggered a wave of competitors appearing in the ChatGPT space. One of thos is Google’s own AI-driven chatbot, Bard, which has been making waves after an initial launch with limited availabiity. However, experts emphasize that this giant hasn’t achieved ChatGPT’s level of ubiquity yet, missing out on the unique chance to be the first in the consumer market to commercialize the generative AI.
It looks like OpenAI has the potential to keep expanding, as CEO Sam Altman has hinted that the company may well be looking for a hundred billion dollars to bring robotic general intelligence (AGI) for the next evolution of AI. A sober reminder about the fragility of the situation appears in the form of the mentioned ‘godfather’ of AI, Geoffrey Hinton. He recently declared that the threat of AI surpassing humanity is much more urgent than the climate change one.
It would be a daring claim to answer whether this news is good or bad for Google Bard, as this question needs to be considered in the greater technological landscape, while the potential implications of the upcoming advancements remain obscure. What’s clear is that the AI industry is not done yet with surprise initiatives and the future of technology is still a mystery yet to be unravelled.
