It's all about the money/rev LI

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (left) and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (right)

Money rules or Fools rush in where angels fear to tread, applies, in this case, to Microsoft, in launching a product not ready for prime time, designed to beat Google, is problematic at best because again, it's all about the money and not exercising sound business practice as depicted by the two articles seen below. In the long term, yours truly senses the path being taken by Google will prevail regarding AI because Google's been in the game far longer thanks to Deep Mind, the British AI company Google bought back in 2015, Google Translate becoming the language translation engine for the world and last but not least, Google's intense connect to the web via search.

To whit ...

Microsoft’s multiyear, multibillion-dollar partnership with OpenAI isn’t new. The tech giant first invested in the Sam Altman-led artificial intelligence (AI) behemoth in 2019, starting off with a $1 billion investment, followed by another in 2021. And again in January 2023, the two renewed their tech camaraderie in what is rumored to be a $10 billion investment.

On the surface, everything seems great between the two, with Bill Gates saying AI is the next big thing in the tech industry. But a new report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) says that there is tension brewing between the two companies, which has made their partnership "awkward."

Never do 49%

Microsoft and OpenAI’s partnership is one of the hottest tie-ups in tech right now. The relationship has also produced conflict and confusion behind the scenes, according to people familiar with the matter.

Microsoft invested billions to get early access to the generative artificial intelligence technology of much smaller OpenAI, a forerunner in the field. But it specifically invested only 49%, a setup that helps the arrangement avoid antitrust scrutiny. 

The result is a kind of open relationship—together, but not exclusive. OpenAI has been arming some of Microsoft’s biggest rivals, while Microsoft has effectively limited the potential search-engine customers for OpenAI. 

Money rules ...

OpenAI has continued to develop partnerships with other companies. Microsoft archrival Salesforce offers a ChatGPT-infused product called Einstein GPT. It is a feature that can do things like generating marketing emails, competing with OpenAI-powered features in Microsoft’s software. 

OpenAI also has connected with different search engines over the past 12 months to discuss licensing its products, said people familiar with the matter, as Microsoft was putting OpenAI technology at the center of a new version of its Bing search engine. 

Where fools rush in ... 

Alexander Pope - Portrait by Michael Dahl, c. 1727

OpenAI, meanwhile, had suggested Microsoft move slower on integrating its AI technology with Bing. OpenAI’s team flagged the risks of pushing out a chatbot based on an unreleased version of its GPT-4 that hadn’t been given more training, according to people familiar with the matter. OpenAI warned it would take time to minimize issues like inaccurate or bizarre responses. 

Microsoft went ahead with the release of the Bing chatbot. The warnings proved accurate. Users encountered incorrect answers and concerning interactions with the tool. Microsoft later issued new restrictions—including a limit on conversation length—on how the new Bing could be used.

And so it goes. - K. Vonnegut