Meet Mira Murati: The secret genius powering ChatGPT
In the AI domain, 36-year-old's name has been steadily rising to prominence
Ermira "Mira" Murati is shaping the future of AI in real-time.
While the spotlight often shines on the groundbreaking technologies she oversees, the 36-year-old remains relatively understated.
Yet, her role in shaping the future of AI is undeniable. Born December 16, 1988, Murati is an Albanian engineer, researcher, and tech executive, who has been the chief technology officer of OpenAI.
Under Murati’s leadership, OpenAI made the pivotal decision to release Chat GPT to the public in November 2022, driven by the need for real-world feedback to improve the system.
Her team’s work is not only disrupting the entire technology industry with ChatGPT and Dall-E (text-to-art/images large language model); they're also ensuring the AI technologies her team builds are safe and ethical.
Journey to Silicon Valley
Her journey from a small town in Albania to the heart of Silicon Valley is a testament to her passion for technology and her dedication to creating a better future.
Born in 1988 in Vlorë, Albania, Murati's early life was marked by a strong interest in STEM subjects.
In 2004, after moving to Canada at 16, she pursued a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering at Dartmouth College. She then joined Goldman Sachs, Zodiac Aerospace and Tesla.
Interim CEO of OpenAI
But it was her time at OpenAI that truly marked her ascent in the tech world. Today, with a net worth estimated at $5 million, Murati held the position of interim CEO of OpenAI, which runs one of the world’s top large language models.
The company behind popular chatbot ChatGPT, is now reportedly in talks with several investors to raise billions of dollars in new funding. This would value the company at more than $100 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
ChatGPT is only getting started. Now, Murati is leading her to developing “Sora”, which generates short video clips corresponding to text prompts from users. Here’s the crazy part: Sora can extend existing “short” videos, too.
Background
Her strong engineering background, particularly AI, was her passport to work in aerospace, automotive, virtual reality and augmented reality.
Both in her time at Tesla (where Murati worked on the development of EVs and exposed her to cutting-edge tech), and at the VR company Leap Motion, she was doing applications of AI in the real world.
Her early career included stints at Goldman Sachs, Zodiac Aerospace, and Tesla, where she gained valuable experience in the tech industry.
However, it was her time at OpenAI that truly marked her ascent in the world of artificial intelligence.
Career: ChatGPT architect
Joining the OpenAI in 2018 as Vice President of Applied AI and Partnerships, Murati quickly rose through the ranks to become CTO in 2022.
Today, as the Chief Technology Officer of OpenAI, Murati is a key architect behind ChatGPT, the “large language model” (LLM) that has captivated the world.
LLM generates human-quality text through natural language: you ask anything, the model gives an answer with a decent degree of accuracy.
Under Murati's leadership, OpenAI has made significant strides in developing cutting-edge AI technologies.
While ChatGPT is the most notable example of her team's achievements, she’s also working on other interesting stuff, including Sora (text-to-video generation model) and Dall-E (text to art/image generation).
Murati is not only focused on technological innovation but also on the ethical implications of AI, ensuring that AI is developed and used responsibly, recognising both its potential benefits and risks.
Tackling AI risks
Her leadership has been instrumental in guiding OpenAI's efforts to curb biases, prevent misuse, and promote transparency.
ChatGPT is not quite “there” yet. Murati is guiding OpenAI's long-term vision to addressing AI’s “hallucinations” (where models generate false information).
As expected, her work is sparking debates around the ethics of AI and how it will shape our future.
As the AI landscape continues to evolve, her influence will undoubtedly grow. But her roule in ensuring an ethical AI and her ability to drive innovation, make her a key figure in shaping the future of technology.
Concerns over AI
Murati recognises concerns over AI. Would AI one day lead the world to self-destruct?
Recently, an engineer warned that Microsoft’s AI tool generates sexually harmful and violent images. Elon Musk, who originally supported OpenAI, has sued the company and its CEO Sam Altman, saying they abandoned its founding mission.
Meanwhile, Google CEO Sundar Pichai called AI chatbot responses “biased”, while addressing the company's AI tool Gemini, calling the app's problematic responses around race “unacceptable”. Google has also restricted AI images amid outcry over the chatbot’s treatment of race.
Then there are concerns over AI’s ability to heighten disinformation and misinformation for power or money – or both. Could AI could compromise social safety as a whole?
Murati, in an interview with WSJ, said: “It’s not really a difficult demand, or a difficult balance between profit and safety guardrails. I’d say the hard part is really figuring out the safety questions and the societal questions. That’s really what keeps me up at night.”
Will AI do more good than harm?
How do we bring bots to the path in which they do more good than harm? Given the prevailing concerns, is AI worth it?
“It is definitely worth it,” Murati enthuses. “AI tools will extend our creativity and knowledge, collective imagination, and ability to do anything,” she added, while citing challenges.
“It’s going to be extremely hard along the way to figure out the right path to bring AI tools into our day-to-day reality. But I think it’s definitely worth trying."
On a personal level, Murati says her mission is clear: to create technology that benefits humanity, while carefully navigating its risks.
Can we trust the fate of humanity to Murati and her team? Only time will tell.