What artificial intelligence can do to science, will be most interesting: Microsoft chief Satya Nadella

Davos, January 16

Artificial Intelligence may have given new tools to science, but the most interesting thing to watch out for will be what it can do to accelerate science, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella said on Tuesday.

He also dismissed concerns that AI cannot be governed or regulated.

“There is nothing that cannot be controlled or governed by humankind for better use and this is one of the easiest and simplest technologies. What is needed is that it is governed properly and I’m sure it will happen,” Nadella said.

He also said that the last thing the world needs is technology creating a divide and “we need to be watchful of it”.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024, Microsoft’s Chairman and CEO said Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been gaining a lot of scale recently with the advent of ChatGPT and many other platforms.

“First time, I actually became a believer was when I saw GitHub Copilot, that actually made me a convert,” he said.

“But, what AI will do to science is probably the most interesting thing for me,” he said during a conversation with WEF Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab.

“What can be done about energy transition, what can be done about cancer detection, what it can do with molecule behaviour. So far what we have seen is that it has brought new tools to science, but we are yet to see how it can accelerate science,” Nadella said.

On the technology front, the top Microsoft executive said he is always anchoring back to three things, quantum, AI and mixed reality or embodied AI or call it humanoid robots.

“Can we give birth to a new quantum revolution that I want to see,” he said.

He also said the world is not seeing any economic growth if adjusted for inflation but AI can trigger economic expansion just like it happened when PCs came into picture.