Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently warned that a handful of dominant AI models could "hollow out entire industries" while urging companies to build "token capital" alongside "human capital." Fresh off these warnings, Nadella took the stage at a live taping of the Hard Fork podcast. Host Kevin Roose welcomed him as a guest they had been "trying to get him on the show for many years" to finally discuss the tech giant's frontier model strategy.
On the live stage, Kevin Roose pressed Satya Nadella on Microsoft's evolving relationship with OpenAI. Noting that the startup recently renegotiated its partnership to work with multiple cloud providers, Roose asked, "What did Microsoft get out of the revision of that deal?"
The live episode wasn't entirely focused on cloud negotiations. Kevin Roose also introduced robot dogs from artist Beeple featuring Elon Musk's face and Mark Zuckerberg's face on them. As Satya Nadella steers Microsoft through shifting alliances, he must prove that his massive bets on OpenAI will continue to pay off for shareholders.