A Private Army of Researchers at Bill Gates‘ Affordability

 

 

Bill Gates, who has the financial means to hire a private army of researchers, claims to do his research using ChatGPT, which frequently makes mistakes.

What might go wrong, if anything?

The seventh-richest guy in the world has acknowledged that he utilizes ChatGPT for personal research, coming out as a huge fan of the platform.

Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates said that he frequently utilizes the OpenAI chatbot to learn new topics in an extensive interview with The Verge.

Gates said to reporter Justine Calma, “You know, I’m always learning about topics, and ChatGPT is a great way to get explanations for specific questions.” “I’m often writing things, and it’s a huge help in writing.”

This admission is astounding for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that the philanthropist, being a multibillionaire, has the financial means to hire a whole team of researchers and fact-checkers to find and analyze any kind of material he could possibly need.

Aside from the apparent context, Gates’ claim that he utilizes ChatGPT to research “topics” is strange considering the platform’s tendency to propagate false information about the facts.

Inside the AI community, this truth-telling problem is referred described as “hallucinating” (though other experts prefer the term “bullshitting”).

Despite several attempts to improve them, chatbots and other large-language models are subject to this problem. Because of its tendency to lie and manipulate, ChatGPT would be viewed as an untrustworthy narrator if it were a major character in a novel or movie, but Gates doesn’t appear to care about this.

Gates made another important admission about AI later in the interview.
In response to a question about whether he believes Microsoft should “invest in its own tech” or expand its multibillion-dollar partnership with OpenAI, the acknowledged acquaintance of Jeffrey Epstein mentioned that he remains an advisor to the company he helped found, even though he left in 2021 as part of an investigation into a relationship he had with a staff member.

“My role is adviser to Microsoft,” stated Gates directly. “It is undertaking a lot of its own work while also fortifying the OpenAI partnership. It’s difficult to exaggerate Microsoft’s and other parties’ investments in this space.”

While he remained silent about his advisory position, early this year Business Insider disclosed that Gates was still making unannounced decisions at Microsoft. The billionaire was a driving factor behind the tech giant’s AI initiatives, according to insiders BI talked with, and he has been crucial in keeping the company’s relationship with OpenAI CEO and cofounder Sam Altman intact.

Either of these sound bytes from the interview, which The Verge undertook ahead of the release of a Netflix special about Gates, would be enough to warrant a head scratch.

Paired together, however, they paint a discombobulating portrait of Microsoft’s alleged shadow leader who’s all-in on AI despite its many glaring issues while the tech monolith he cofounded makes billions off its back.