Microsoft has officially announced a 10 billion dollar investment towards artificial intelligence, or more precisely, the up-and-rising OpenAI. This firm developed ChatGPT, a chatbot that has been gaining recognition for its human-like responses. It’s been confirmed by UBS research that ChatGPT is the “fastest-growing consumer application in history”. Microsoft will receive a 49% stake as part of the expanded partnership, while additional investors will receive another 49% holding and OpenAi will retain 2% of its ownership. According to a clause in the contract, Microsoft would earn three-quarters of OpenAI’s profits until they recoup their investment. 

With all these major developments in artificial intelligence, there have been many questions about how potential technology abuse could impact other industries. Due to speculation that there is a possibility for ChatGPT to be used to assist students in tasks like cheating on assessments or passing off essays as their own, there has been a great deal of anxiety in the area of education. University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School professor Christian Terwiesh put the chatbot to the test by using an exam from his operations management course. The chatbot passed the test with a B-minus grade, outperforming the average score.

However, Microsoft has commented on these concerns and claims to commit to “building AI systems that are trustworthy and safe.”