Microsoft has formed a new division dedicated to developing artificial intelligence systems that can outperform humans in specific fields, starting with medical diagnostics, Reuters reports.
The new unit, called the MAI Superintelligence Team, represents one of the company’s most ambitious ventures into advanced AI — and a distinct philosophical turn from the broader race toward so-called artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft’s AI chief and co-founder of Google DeepMind, told Reuters that the initiative will focus on developing “humanist superintelligence” — AI that can solve practical, well-defined problems to directly benefit humanity, rather than pursuing endlessly self-improving machines.
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“Humanism requires us to always ask the question: does this technology serve human interests?” Suleyman said.
The team will be led by Suleyman and Chief Scientist Karen Simonyan, both veterans of the AI research world. According to Suleyman, Microsoft plans to invest “a lot of money” in the project, though he declined to give figures or comment on whether it would offer the kind of nine-figure recruitment incentives Meta reportedly used earlier this year to lure top AI talent.
A Targeted Approach to Superintelligence
While competitors like Meta Platforms and the recently launched Safe Superintelligence Inc. are chasing technical leaps toward AGI, Microsoft’s effort diverges in scope and intent. Suleyman said the company is deliberately avoiding attempts to create autonomous, self-learning systems that evolve without human oversight.
“I doubt that autonomous, self-improving machines could be controlled,” he said, noting that the company’s approach is centered on safety, transparency, and measurable real-world applications.
Instead, the MAI Superintelligence Team will focus on “specialist models” designed to exceed human capabilities in narrow but high-impact domains — such as scientific research, molecular discovery, and healthcare. Suleyman cited AI that can develop new battery storage methods or design novel molecules, referencing DeepMind’s AlphaFold project, which revolutionized protein-structure prediction.
One of Microsoft’s first major goals is what Suleyman described as medical superintelligence — a system capable of diagnosing and predicting diseases with accuracy and insight beyond human doctors. He said the company has “a line of sight to medical superintelligence in the next two to three years,” contingent on breakthroughs in reasoning and model reliability.
Suleyman believes the impact of the idea could be transformative. “It will increase our life expectancy and give everybody more healthy years, because we’ll be able to detect preventable diseases much earlier,” he said.
Microsoft’s research arm has long invested in health-related AI, including tools for medical imaging, drug discovery, and clinical data management. The company’s Azure cloud platform also hosts a range of healthcare-focused AI services, many of which feed into its growing ecosystem of partnerships with hospitals, biotech firms, and universities.
The Philosophy Behind the Project
Suleyman’s emphasis on “humanist superintelligence” points to an emerging split within the AI research community — between those chasing the dream of a general, all-purpose AI and those advocating for more controlled, domain-specific progress.
He said AI that reasons through problems without human input is not the goal. Instead, Microsoft’s vision centers on building systems that enhance human expertise rather than replace it.
This approach echoes Suleyman’s long-standing caution about unregulated AI expansion. Even during his time at DeepMind, he argued that AI development should prioritize safety and social benefit over raw capability.
Microsoft’s announcement follows similar moves by Meta, which has been aggressively scaling its AI teams and reportedly offered up to $100 million in signing bonuses this year. Other companies, including Elon Musk’s xAI and Sam Altman’s OpenAI, are also pushing toward AI systems with increasingly advanced reasoning abilities.
But as the global race intensifies, skepticism persists about whether current technology is capable of producing such “superintelligent” models without major theoretical advances. Some experts argue that breakthroughs in reasoning, causality, and interpretability are still needed before AI can achieve reliable superhuman performance — even in narrow fields.
However, Microsoft’s new team appears determined to find out through this project. The company hopes to demonstrate that the road to superintelligence can still be paved with clear human benefit by focusing its resources on solving tangible problems like disease prevention.