new technologies
“It’s going to be big”: Bill Gates expects AI to end Google searches and Amazon as we know them
Bill Gates, Chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
© Ludovic MARIN / AFP
Microsoft founder Bill Gates is unsurprisingly a big fan of new technologies. At a conference, he raved about the capabilities of artificial intelligence. However, he sees a bleak future for some competing products.
When Bill Gates says something, the world usually listens. The Microsoft founder and at times the richest person in the world was always right with his forecasts (except for the smartphone, you can find out more here). Now he expects the next revolution through artificial intelligence. In his opinion, the technology will not only change medical research. But also shake the cornerstones of the Internet.
According to Gates, this is mainly due to the fact that AI will radically change user behavior. “Whoever wins the race for the personal assistant – it’s going to be great,” he said at a conference in San Francisco on Monday, according to “CNBC”. It will change the way we use the internet. And have corresponding consequences for the Internet giants. “You will never search for something on Google again, never visit a productivity site again, never open Amazon.com again,” he sums up his assessment.
Who wins AI?
However, who will win the race is still completely open. He sees a 50:50 chance that either one of the established large corporations in the industry will crack the recipe for it – or a start-up that hardly anyone knows today. “I’ll be a bit disappointed if it doesn’t become Microsoft,” he admits frankly.
What he is saying, however, is that the company he founded is not as far along as the competition. Microsoft boss Satya Nadella has been trimming the group for AI for several years. The own assistant Cortana has eke out a niche existence since its introduction. With ChatGPT developer OpenAI, the software group has brought a potent partner on board. The new Bing search assistant, for example, also partially relies on the technology, which is considered to be extremely well developed. So far, however, it has not been enough for the revolution that Gates is expecting.
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Bill Gates expects breakthrough in medicine
Gates also expects an important breakthrough for AI in another area that is very important to him. Gates sees artificial intelligence and its ability to recognize patterns, even in apparent chaos, as one of the most important opportunities in medical research. He explains that it allows a better understanding of the highly complex processes in the human body. It can also be used to develop effective drugs. He therefore expects an important breakthrough in a few years: Gates believes that humanity is on the verge of curing Alzheimer’s with drugs.
For several years he has been concentrating on the foundation he founded together with his ex-wife Melinda to advance research into curing numerous diseases. The two had supported several of the companies that were able to quickly deliver a vaccine after the outbreak of the Covid pandemic.
Earlier in the week, Gates made headlines for a less glamorous reason: he was allegedly blackmailed by notorious billionaire Jeffrey Epstein over an affair (read more here).
Source: CNBC