Microsoft joins the race towards artificial superintelligence and distances itself from OpenAI in this vision.
Mustafa Suleyman, head of Microsoft’s AI department, outlines the company’s vision for the future in a blog post. Like its competitors, Microsoft is striving to develop general “superintelligence”. This term refers to AI systems that perform at least as well as or even better than the human brain in just about everything.
In Microsoft’s vision, superintelligence must be ‘humanistic’. This means that AI that is more intelligent than us still serves humanity. Suleyman even quotes Einstein: “Concern for man and his fate must always form the chief interest of all technical endeavors, ensuring that the creations of our minds shall be a blessing and not a curse to mankind.”
Microsoft sees three application areas for superintelligent AI systems. These range from personal AI companions, which Microsoft hopes to achieve with Copilot, to applications in medicine and energy. The claim that AI will provide ‘cheap and abundant renewable energy generation and storage’ sounds contradictory now, given that chatbots like Copilot currently consume enormous amounts of energy.
Without OpenAI
Suleyman’s blog reads more like a vision for the future than a concrete plan to achieve it. Microsoft can’t present more than a paper about a medical sector application. What is notable, however, is the complete absence of OpenAI.
Microsoft has relied on its collaboration with OpenAI in recent years. In exchange for the billions of dollars and financial breathing room, Microsoft got first dibs when OpenAI came up with new models. The collaboration was recently reinforced with a restructuring at OpenAI, but also gives both companies more freedom to pursue their own paths.
However, investors don’t seem entirely convinced that Microsoft can do it on its own. After the blog’s publication, the stock price took a small dip of two percent. In the financial quarterly report that Microsoft released last week, it already warned of increased expenses in 2026. The development of artificial superintelligence, however human it may be, won’t come free.