In the world of artificial intelligence, there are key figures who have influenced its development and pushed the boundaries of technology. One such individual is Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, a San Francisco-based AI lab. Altman played a crucial role in the creation of OpenAI after meeting with Elon Musk in 2015. At the time, Altman was running Y Combinator, a prominent startup incubator in Silicon Valley.

Another influential figure in the AI field is Dario Amodei, an AI researcher who joined OpenAI early on. Amodei helped shape OpenAI's research direction but left the company in 2021 due to disagreements about its trajectory. He then founded Anthropic, a startup dedicated to creating safe AI systems.

Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and former richest man in the world, had been skeptical about the potential power of AI for many years. However, in August 2022, Gates was given a demonstration of OpenAI's GPT-4, the AI model behind the viral chatbot ChatGPT. Witnessing GPT-4's capabilities converted Gates into an AI advocate, leading Microsoft to aggressively capitalize on generative AI.

Demis Hassabis, a neuroscientist and founder of DeepMind, has made significant contributions to the AI field. DeepMind, backed by investor Peter Thiel, produced AlphaGo, an AI software that stunned the world in 2016 by defeating the world's best player of the board game Go. DeepMind was later acquired by Google in 2014, making Hassabis one of the company's top AI experts.

Geoffrey Hinton, a professor at the University of Toronto, and his graduate students were responsible for neural networks, a key technology underlying modern AI. Google recognized the importance of neural networks and outbid Microsoft and Baidu to secure Hinton and his team for $44 million in 2012.

Reid Hoffman, a former PayPal executive and founder of LinkedIn, was part of a group that invested $1 billion in OpenAI, alongside Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. Musk, the leader of Tesla and SpaceX, played a crucial role in establishing OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit organization focused on ethical AI. However, Musk left OpenAI in 2018 due to disagreements with Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft.

Nadella later spearheaded Microsoft's investments in OpenAI, committing $13 billion to the startup over several years. Microsoft fully embraced AI, incorporating OpenAI's technology into its Bing search engine and various other products.

Larry Page, the co-founder of Google, has long been a proponent of AI and its potential benefits. He played a pivotal role in Google's acquisition of DeepMind in 2014. Page holds an optimistic view of AI, envisioning a future where robots and humans live harmoniously.

Peter Thiel, a PayPal executive turned venture capitalist, made significant investments in early AI, supporting DeepMind and later OpenAI. Thiel's financial backing contributed to the growth and advancement of AI technology.

Eliezer Yudkowsky, an internet philosopher and self-taught AI researcher, played a crucial role in shaping the philosophical thinking around AI. Yudkowsky, a leader in the Rationalist and effective altruist communities, recognized the power of AI but also had concerns about its potential destructive capabilities. Supported by Thiel, Yudkowsky hosted an annual AI conference where Demis Hassabis met Mark Zuckerberg.

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta (formerly Facebook), has been a strong advocate for AI for over a decade. Recognizing its potential, he attempted to acquire DeepMind before Google's successful bid. Zuckerberg then embarked on a hiring spree to attract AI talent to Facebook.

These influential figures have shaped the AI landscape, pushing the boundaries of technology and raising awareness of its potential capabilities. As the AI field continues to evolve, their contributions will undoubtedly have a long-lasting impact.

Reporting for this news item was contributed by Cade Metz, Karen Weise, Nico Grant, and Mike Isaac.