He also provided two anecdotes about current use cases of GPT technology. The first is a veteran Silicon Valley programmer who increased productivity by 80% by using the model to write better code, faster. The second was an Indian farmer who, despite speaking only a local dialect, was able to access an obscure government program over the Internet via a GPT interface.
“AI is just at the beginning of the S-curve,” Nadella said, adding that its near- and long-term opportunities are huge.
Looking ahead, Nadella said Microsoft plans to be a leader in “quantum computing.” “Microsoft has all the building blocks for a next-generation quantum computer. Microsoft will achieve quantum supremacy and aims to build a general-purpose quantum computer.”
In terms of security and protection, Nadella said the operating principle for protecting critical infrastructure should be assuming the worst — “not having trust.” “Security and security must be considered from the design stage,” he said. He also spoke about sustainability being at the heart of the business. “By 2050, Microsoft not only wants to be CO2-neutral, but also CO2-negative.”
Meanwhile, Seattle-based Microsoft plans to lay off 10,000 employees — about 5% of its workforce — by the end of the third fiscal quarter of 2023 during the recession.
