The Download: Microsoft's stance on erotic AI, and an AI hype mystery

Plus: OpenAI has unveiled estimates of how many of ChatGPT's weekly users are experiencing severe mental health symptoms "We will never build a sex robot," says Mustafa Suleyman Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI, is trying to walk a fine line. On the one hand, he thinks that the industry is taking AI in a dangerous direction by building chatbots that present as human: He worries that people will be tricked into seeing life instead of lifelike behavior. On the other hand, Suleyman runs a product shop that must compete with those peers. Last week, Microsoft announced a string of updates to its Copilot chatbot designed to make Copilot more expressive, engaging, and helpful. Will Douglas Heaven, our senior AI editor, talked to Suleyman about the tension at play when it comes to designing our interactions with chatbots and his ultimate vision for what this new technology should be. A few weeks ago, I set out on what I thought would be a straightforward reporting journey.