Microsoft has appointed the co-founder of the British artificial intelligence lab DeepMind as the head of a new AI division.
Mustafa Suleyman, 39, co-founded DeepMind with Demis Hassabis and Shane Legg in 2010 and the company went on to be bought by Google for £400m in 2014. It now forms the core of Google’s AI efforts after merging with another unit to become Google DeepMind in 2023.
Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, stated in a blog post that a British innovator in AI, who departed from DeepMind in 2019, will now lead Microsoft AI, a new division dedicated to the company’s consumer products and research. Numerous staff members from Sulyeman’s Inflection AI startup will also be joining this division.
Due to its substantial investment in OpenAI, the creator of the ChatGPT chatbot, Microsoft has emerged as a dominant force in the field of generative AI. This technology is capable of generating realistic text, images, and audio based on simple typed prompts.
Nadella stated that he has been acquainted with Mustafa for a number of years and has always held him in high esteem for his role as a founder of DeepMind and Inflection. He also commended his visionary skills, his ability to create and develop products, and his knack for assembling teams to pursue daring goals.
The latest sector brings together Microsoft’s initiatives in consumer artificial intelligence, including its Copilot chatbot and the new Bing browser using the technology from ChatGPT. Copilot plays a crucial role in generating income from Microsoft’s advancements in AI and has the ability to compose emails, summarize documents, and create presentations.
“This addition of fresh, skilled individuals will allow us to increase our speed once more,” Nadella stated.
Karen Simonyan, who, alongside Suleyman and Microsoft board member Reid Hoffman, founded Inflection AI, will assume the role of chief scientist in the new division.
Google is expanding its AI-related efforts. Bloomberg News reported on Monday that Apple was in talks to build Google’s Gemini AI product into the iPhone.
Inflection AI has emerged as one of the most high-flying names in the genAI race after raising $1.3bn from Microsoft and the chipmaker Nvidia at a valuation of $4bn last June.
Suleyman, who was born in northern London with a Syrian father and English mother, has recently released a book titled “The Coming Wave” which discusses the potential advantages of AI, while also cautioning about its potential threats to worldwide stability. The book calls for a significant rise in the number of researchers focusing on AI safety.
Last year, during an interview with the Guardian, Sulyeman referred to the book as a “provocation”.
“The aspect that excites me most about my work is that I am making predictions,” he expressed. “I believe many individuals lack the boldness to do so. Although I am confident in my predictions, there is still time for action.”
Source: theguardian.com
