Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on AI agents: ‘Humans and swarms of AI agents will be the next frontier’

Humans and swarms of agents will be working together where AI agents will act as digital workers, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said.

Humans and swarms of agents will be working together where AI agents will act as digital workers, orchestrating tasks across multiple systems to improve operational efficiency, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said during a CEO Connect session, ahead of Microsoft AI Tour event in Bengaluru.

In a fireside chat with Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, Mr. Nadella noted that creating AI agents will become as common as building spreadsheets, allowing individuals to streamline personal workflows.

The idea of building AI agents is tied to operating leverage and scalability, making it a critical frontier for enterprise AI and consumer use cases, he added.

Agent-based systems require tools, memory, and infrastructure, and they will move isolated applications to orchestrated multi-agent systems, leading to a transformative approach in enterprise processes and customer interaction, Mr. Nadella highlighted.

The conversation also underscored the importance of balancing AI’s societal impacts, particularly in populous countries like India, where there is large-scale adoption of new digital tools. he speaker calls on CEOs to embrace AI-driven change, adapt processes, and leverage AI for operational efficiency and innovation.

The duo also reflected on the changing paradigm of Moore’s Law in the context of AI and the abundance of data and AI-driven systems. They emphasised the shift from hardware-driven improvements to a new era of AI abundance and scalable applications across industries.

While Moore’s Law, as traditionally understood as the doubling transistors every 18-24 months, may be slowing, innovations in AI with neural networks, GPUs, accelerators have created a “new Moore’s Law” for models.