Daijiworld Media Network - San Francisco

San Francisco, Dec 27: Microsoft AI Chief Executive Officer Mustafa Suleyman has warned that the next phase of artificial intelligence will bring massive financial, ethical and societal challenges, with companies needing to invest “hundreds of billions of dollars” over the next five to ten years to stay competitive.

Speaking on the Moonshots with Peter Diamandis podcast, Suleyman said the spending would largely go into infrastructure, specialised hardware and hiring top AI talent, strengthening the dominance of a few well-capitalised tech giants.

He cautioned against treating Artificial General Intelligence as a competitive trophy, stressing that AI progress must be guided by safety, governance and real-world benefit rather than hype.

Suleyman said Microsoft has drawn a “red line” and would walk away from any project that risks creating uncontrollable AI systems, signalling a willingness to prioritise safety over speed. He joined Microsoft AI in March 2024 after co-founding DeepMind and Inflection, with a focus on advancing Copilot and consumer AI research.