Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the next wave of artificial intelligence will likely bring cheaper models and more user control, because the public will not accept a future in which only a few companies do all of the world’s learning. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, he repeated his view that AI should become more democratic and less dependent on a small group of dominant providers.
Nadella did not name OpenAI, Anthropic or Google, the three companies behind today’s most advanced models, but he made clear that Microsoft wants to steer the AI race away from a future controlled by them alone. In recent weeks, Microsoft has launched a series of lower-cost models aimed at reducing expenses for customers. Reports say the company is also considering hosting a version of DeepSeek, the Chinese AI developer known for low-cost models and accused of copying OpenAI and Anthropic.
Such a move would likely sharply increase usage of the Chinese model and put pressure on American rivals, which could face a prolonged price war. The possibility also reflects Microsoft’s lag behind competitors in developing cutting-edge AI models.
Nadella said he was restating the vision he outlined in a newspaper opinion piece last week, in which he argued that the future of AI models should be more democratic and deliver broader social benefits because companies will avoid becoming dependent on only a small set of models. He also pushed back against fear-based claims about AI, saying it is wrong to say that all white-collar jobs will disappear, or that AI can be treated as a weapon or built by consuming all available electricity for data centers. Instead, he said AI will change job definitions rather than cause mass layoffs, though that will require major change management. “There is a path forward,” he said, and described AI as a knowledge engine that helps companies leverage workers through multiple models with different prices and capabilities. He added that the models should be “tools to help climb inside a machine controlled by humans.” Still, he said words alone are not enough, stressing that Microsoft must prove its case through action and earn social legitimacy by giving people a sense of influence and economic opportunity.
