OpenAI’s recent acquisition may change PCs forever

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, announced that it has acquired a startup called Multi, indicating that powerful new capabilities could come to its AI systems. Multi is an advanced screen sharing and collaboration tool built specifically for software engineering teams, enabling features such as shared cursors and simultaneous screen sharing with up to 10 people.

However, this startup is being shut down due to acquisition by OpenAI after posting this statement on its blog:

“What if desktop computers were inherently designed for multiplayer gaming? What if an operating system put people on par with applications? These were the questions we explored when creating Multi and, before that, Remotion. Recently, we are increasingly asking ourselves how we should work with a computer. NO ON Or by computers, but really With computers. With artificial intelligence. We believe this is one of the most important product questions of our time.”

This is certainly a provocative approach, especially in the context of making PCs “inherently multiplayer-ready.”

Speculation about the possibility of integrating the Multi function with ChatGPT AI systems is sweeping through X (formerly Twitter).

OpenAI just acquired this startup that basically lets someone remotely control your computer…

I think we can all guess how this might fit into the ChatGPT desktop… 👀👀👀👀 https://t.co/V38XQqry09 pic.twitter.com/vDHGx52HTM

— andrew gao (@itsandrewgao) June 24, 2024

One user, a student developer, speculated that collaboration and remote management features could be made available in the ChatGPT desktop app, which was announced earlier this year for Mac. This would allow services like ChatGPT to “draw on the screen” or “edit code” on your behalf.

Some were excited about the idea and, understandably, others expressed some security or privacy concerns about allowing an AI system to take control of a computer.

We’ve seen both Microsoft and Apple begin to explore the idea of ​​deeper integration of AI systems into desktop computers through the operating system, including Recall in Copilot+ computers and Apple Intelligence in Apple Silicon Macs.

However, it makes sense for OpenAI to start exploring this area on its own. Can Multi help artificial intelligence overcome the limitations of the application itself and control the computer itself? We probably won’t find out for a while, but the acquisition will certainly move a key piece of technology that could make this possible.

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