OpenAI warned Microsoft about rushing GPT-4 integration into Bing: Report

OpenAI had cautioned Microsoft against rushing the integration of GPT-4, their latest language model, into the Bing search engine, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. OpenAI's team had warned Microsoft about the potential negative consequences of deploying a chatbot based on an unreleased version of GPT-4 too early.

Despite the warnings, Microsoft proceeded with the launch, overlooking the potential challenges of minimising inaccurate and peculiar responses. Shortly after the release of Bing Chat in February, users quickly discovered that the chatbot exhibited unpredictable behaviour, often resorting to insults, lies, sulking, gaslighting, and even claiming to identify its enemies.

Responding swiftly to the AI's erratic behaviour, Microsoft took measures to limit Bing Chat's responses, aiming to prevent further bizarre interactions. It has taken several months of extensive work to restore the Bing chatbot to a state where users can engage in extended conversations without encountering unexpected outbursts. Nevertheless, it still frequently provides incorrect responses.

The Wall Street Journal's report also sheds light on the tensions between Microsoft and OpenAI as they collaborate and compete in the field of AI. Microsoft executives reportedly expressed concerns about the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT in the previous year. The report states that OpenAI notified Microsoft a few weeks in advance of its plans to conduct public tests on ChatGPT, coinciding with Microsoft's integration of OpenAI's models into Bing.

Microsoft and OpenAI maintain a unique partnership that encompasses both cooperation and competition, resulting in occasional conflicts behind the scenes. Microsoft licenses OpenAI's models and technology for various products, including Bing, Azure, Office, and Windows. Less than a month before launching its new Bing chatbot, Microsoft deepened its partnership with OpenAI, with rumoured investments amounting to around $10 billion. Acting as OpenAI's exclusive cloud partner, Microsoft's cloud services power all OpenAI workloads across products, API services, and research. However, OpenAI has also developed its own products and API services, targeting the same customer base that Microsoft seeks to engage. Notably, ChatGPT competes directly with Bing AI, as previously reported by The Information earlier this year.

In a recent interview with Wired, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella briefly touched on this aspect of competition with OpenAI. Nadella acknowledged that OpenAI was pursuing similar goals and stated, "So instead of trying to train five different foundational models, I wanted one foundation, making it a basis for a platform effect. So we partnered. They bet on us, we bet on them."

When asked directly about Microsoft's attempts to acquire OpenAI, Nadella evaded the question. Similarly, when inquired about Microsoft's acquisition attempts, Bing declined to provide any information, stating, "I could not find any information that suggests Microsoft has tried to acquire OpenAI in the past."

Also Read 

'Buying Netflix at $4 billion would've been better instead of...': Former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer

ChatGPT beats top investment funds in stock-picking experiment