Microsoft CEO and Chairman Satya Nadella on Tuesday issued a rare warning about the future of artificial intelligence (AI), saying that if it stays limited to big tech companies and wealthy economies, and does not spread to other areas, the ongoing AI boom may turn into a bubble.
Speaking with BlackRock Chair and CEO Laurence D. Fink, at a session during the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Nadella said that the long-term success of AI would depend on the fast-advancing technology being deployed across a broad range of industries, as well as through adoption by countries outside the developed world.
“For this not to be a bubble by definition, it requires that the benefits of this are much more evenly spread,” Nadella said at the forum.
It will be a "tell-tale" sign of a bubble if all the AI talk focuses only on the supply side or on technology companies, rather than on adoption across sectors and the industry as a whole, he warned.
AI must be adopted across industries, says Satya Nadella
Nadella stressed that he was confident AI would become more transformative across industries.
“I am much more confident that this is a technology that will, in fact, build on the rails of cloud and mobile, diffuse faster, bend the productivity curve and bring local surplus and economic growth all around the world,” he said.
He said the role of AI needs to be examined across all aspects of life, such as how it is helping pharma companies bring critical drugs faster to the market or accelerate their trials.
He said that an increasing amount of data from big tech companies, including Microsoft, has shown an unequal adoption rate of AI, implying that productivity benefits and work applications are restricted to wealthier countries and companies.
Nadella called for AI-driven economic growth rather than just increasing spending.
He noted how AI and other advanced technologies are increasing productivity and reshaping the way we work.
“We as a global community have to get to a point where we are using AI to do something useful that changes the outcomes of people and communities and countries and industries,” the Microsoft CEO said.
Nadella added that the strongest challenge with AI is ensuring its rapid and equitable diffusion across the world.
For this not to be a bubble by definition, it requires that the benefits of this are much more evenly spread.
“I think when it comes to AI, the real question in front of all of us is how do you ensure that the diffusion of AI happens, and happens fast,” he said.
Nadella also discussed the need for public-private cooperation to ensure that the AI revolution is supported by adequate energy infrastructure and examined data sovereignty and the risk of a so-called AI bubble.
