For Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, a man tasked with running one of the most integral — and most valuable — companies in the world, the basis of success is simple: make sure what they do is what their customers and employees want.
"Our success is aligned with the success of the world around us," Nadella told Cheddar's Hope King in an exclusive interview this week.
"Each of us comes into the workplace with a passion, with a personal philosophy, in terms of what we want, in terms of the meaning in our lives" he added. "That's, to me, the biggest unlock any corporation could do."
And with the innovative leaps on Microsoft's horizon, particularly in cloud and artificial intelligence, Nadella said to achieve that success means to build products that are easy to use — "really all one platform."
Although cloud computing — and its Azure platform, in particular — remains the biggest driving force for Microsoft's businesses, Nadella avoided giving too much credit to just one product.
"When we say we want to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve, more fundamental to that mission is not celebrating any success we have," he said."
Customers don't care about specific product lines, according to Nadella.
"Azure is a super important part of what we're doing, but when we think about what's happening, whether it is a Game Pass or xCloud, whether it's Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, LinkedIn or Azure, it's really all one platform effect," he said.
Nadella's comments come amid news of major deals struck with AT&T and Kroger earlier this year, as well as a $1 billion investment from Microsoft in OpenAI, the artificial intelligence research startup co-founded by Elon Musk, who has since stepped down. That funding is meant to jumpstart supercomputing abilities for Azure, which has grown 64 percent since last year, according to the company's latest earnings. Azure competes against Amazon's Web Services, which dominated the sector for years, although Microsoft Azure is number two in market share and has grown steadily to about 16 percent in the first quarter of 2019 according to Synergy research.
Moreover, Microsoft's intelligent cloud services boasted about $11.4 billion in revenues — beating analyst expectations.
Nadella emphasized that ensuring all these technologies are cohesive is key.
Azure's new effort with OpenAI aims to scale general artificial intelligence — AI that can master a human field to an "expert" level — on an Azure-supported platform. But Nadella cautioned that these new technologies will require determining ways to reduce or remove bias from artificial intelligence systems and how we select the tasks artificial intelligence should be responsible for.
"Let's start with a set of ethical design principles," he said. "As AI develops, let's not just celebrate what AI can do. We should also really ask ourselves what should AI do?"
"The human should always be in the loop. What that means, in terms of being in the loop, will change in definition."
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
U.S. sports betting is booming as NFL and college football fuel massive activity. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt breaks down trends, growth, and what’s next.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.
