Microsoft recently hired "AI Pioneer" Mustafa Suleyman to be the CEO of their AI client services and apps which includes Copilot. He is a very good speaker and has been making the rounds, giving his vision of the future where AI replaces search and completely transforms how we interact with computers. Before this, he started DeepMind which Google acquired back in 2014 and got their AI mission started. Apparently he got unhappy, did a start up which basically failed immediately when ChatGPT gave away the technology and blew up his business plan (he says he raised $1B for the start up!).
Anyway, I wondered if someone like him is really a good fit for Microsoft. And if AI is as good as he says it is, can answer this simple question:
"Should Microsoft have hired Mustafa Suleyman?"
After all, wouldn't be wonderful if AI could do interviews and candidate selection for us?
I fed the question to Windows CoPilot. I was taken back the brief answer:
Absolutely. Mustafa Suleyman is a highly influential figure in the AI world, having co-founded DeepMind, which was later acquired by Google. His expertise and vision for responsible AI development make him a valuable addition to Microsoft's team1. By hiring him to lead their consumer AI business, Microsoft is positioning itself strongly in the competitive AI industry.
What do you think about the impact of AI on society?
And provided a single link to Yahoo article from Bloomberg.
I gave the same question to ChatGPT and got what i expected to see, with far better formatting and style:
Whether Microsoft should have hired Mustafa Suleyman depends on how his unique skills and expertise align with Microsoft's strategic goals, particularly in artificial intelligence and ethical innovation. Here are some points to consider:
Reasons Why Microsoft Might Benefit from Hiring Suleyman
- AI Expertise: As a co-founder of DeepMind and a leader in Inflection AI, Suleyman has a track record of pioneering AI technologies that could align with Microsoft's ambitions, particularly in generative AI and enterprise solutions.
- Ethical AI Advocacy: Microsoft has positioned itself as a leader in responsible AI development. Suleyman's strong focus on ethical AI would reinforce these efforts, especially as they integrate AI into tools like Azure, Office, and OpenAI collaborations.
- Visionary Leadership: Suleyman's ability to bridge technology with real-world applications (e.g., AI in healthcare) could open new verticals for Microsoft, especially in areas like healthcare, sustainability, and personalized AI.
- Competitor Differentiation: Hiring someone of Suleyman's stature could bolster Microsoft's talent roster while potentially neutralizing his ability to compete in the same space through other ventures like Inflection AI.
Challenges or Considerations
- Cultural Fit: Microsoft's organizational culture might differ from Suleyman's leadership style and values. His intense, high-expectation approach might not align with Microsoft's collaborative and team-oriented ethos.
- Potential Conflicts: Suleyman's entrepreneurial drive and independent initiatives (e.g., Inflection AI) might not mesh with the structure and priorities of a tech giant like Microsoft.
- Focus Areas: Microsoft is heavily focused on enterprise AI and cloud services. Suleyman's expertise leans more toward societal impacts and ethics, which might not be a top priority in Microsoft's immediate roadmap.
Conclusion
If Microsoft's goal is to strengthen its ethical AI leadership while continuing to innovate in groundbreaking ways, Suleyman could have been an excellent addition. However, his management style and personal focus might have required careful alignment with Microsoft's existing strategies and culture. Given his entrepreneurial spirit, it's also possible he would prefer leading independent ventures rather than integrating into a large organization.
Would you like a deeper dive into how Suleyman’s vision might specifically fit within Microsoft's AI strategy?
I think ChatGPT nicely summarizes the pros and cons of hiring him. Nothing profound but a neutral summary of the opportunities and risks there. The CoPilot response with that "Absolutely" reeks hand manipulation of the answer. Did someone anticipate that question coming up and cooked that answer as to not disappoint their new boss? If so, that presents a very dangerous precedence that AI technology providers will bias the results to their liking.
The alternative is that CoPilot is very, very far behind in ChatGPT which is puzzling to me seeing how CoPilot is supposedly built on top of ChatGPT. If so, that tells me that Microsoft needs people to focus on hear and now with AI far more than futuristic visions of where it is going.
What do you think?