but this is alchemy isn't it? there isn't even a theoretical framework from which we can even begin to suggest how to keep any "general intelligence" benign. good old fashioned research notwithstanding, a billion dollars is not about to change this. it reads to more to me like this is an investment in azure (ie microsoft picking up some machine learning expertise to leverage in its future cloud services). that's not a judgement, and i'm sure lots of cool work will still come from this, given the strength of the team and massive backing they have. it just smells funny.

Alchemy wasn't entirely wrong; it is indeed possible to turn lead into gold, it was just beyond the technology of the time: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-l....

Well, unlike alchemy there are some pretty good examples of intelligent agents around - some even involved in this project!