Microsoft cuts its AI ethics team as it invests billions more in AI technology

Microsoft cuts its AI ethics team as it invests billions more in AI technology, as per the report.

The change comes as Microsoft updates its Bing search engine and Edge internet browser to include a “new, next-generation OpenAI large language model that is more powerful than ChatGPT,” as well as signs a “multi-year, multi-billion-dollar investment” deal with OpenAI, the startup behind AI-powered image and text generators like DALL-E and ChatGPT.

The group was tasked with ensuring that product designs truly met Microsoft’s ethical criteria for AI. According to reports, the team was also attempting to determine any dangers that might arise from incorporating OpenAI’s technology into a number of Microsoft products.
 
According to the report, the team reached its maximum size of 30 members in 2020. But, after a restructuring in October 2022, only roughly seven workers were left. John Montgomery, corporate vice president of AI at Microsoft, told Platformer that chief technology officer Kevin Scott and chief executive Satya Nadella put a lot of pressure on the company to deliver “the most recent OpenAI models” to clients as soon as feasible.

Microsoft continues to operate its Office of Responsible AI, which is dedicated to developing corporate-wide policies and guidelines to direct AI development. The ethics and society team, however, was credited by staff with helping to close the gap between values and goods, according to Platformer’s response.