OpenAI and Microsoft have a secret definition for “AGI,” an acronym for artificial general intelligence, or any system that can outperform humans at most tasks. According to leaked documents obtained by The informationIn 2023, the two companies agreed that AGI would be achieved once OpenAI developed an AI system capable of generating at least $100 billion in profits.

There has long been a debate in the AI ​​community about what AGI really means, or whether computers will ever be good enough to outperform humans at most tasks and wipe out large swaths of the economy.

The term “artificial intelligence” itself is somewhat misleading, as many of them are actually just a prediction engine that ingests keywords and sifts through large amounts of data without really understanding the underlying concepts. But OpenAI has received more than $13 billion in funding from Microsoft over the years, and that money comes with a strange contractual agreement that says OpenAI would no longer allow Microsoft to use new technologies it develops , once AGI is reached.

OpenAI was founded as a non-profit organization under the guise that its technology should benefit humanity. The idea behind shutting down Microsoft once AGI is achieved is that AGI in the hands of a for-profit company would harm humanity. In return for investing billions in a nonprofit, Microsoft’s current agreement with OpenAI guarantees it a portion of the profits until a predetermined cap is reached somewhere in the tens of billions; The cap is supposedly intended to ensure that most of the profits go to producing products that benefit humanity.

As has been well documented, OpenAI is no longer interested in this non-profit model as the structure makes it difficult to raise more money and compete with other AI players. Since October The information says Microsoft and OpenAI have been negotiating changes to their agreement, which includes the tech giant serving as OpenAI’s exclusive cloud hosting provider.

Microsoft and OpenAI have been taking different paths for some time. It was recently reported that the latter has started integrating self-developed AI models into its 365 Copilot product to improve costs and efficiency. It makes no sense for Microsoft to continue to rely on OpenAI, an independent company, for technology that it believes will form the backbone of its productivity software in the future. Microsoft needs proprietary technology.

OpenAI, for its part, is a long way from making a $100 billion profit on a technology whose true value remains speculative, meaning the company would likely have to hand over its technology to Microsoft for a long time to come – not particularly good if it does looks as if the company is on the way to becoming more competitive. And giving up large chunks of its revenue makes it less attractive to the new investors it will need as it continues to burn cash. Eliminating the cloud hosting agreement could also allow OpenAI to negotiate better hosting costs with an alternative provider.