In a week during which Microsoft’s chief executive, Satya Nadella, warned investors not to be too optimistic about the company’s immediate prospects as he embarked on a rampant cost-cutting initiative that would cut 10,000 jobs, he also saw it fit to write a $US10 billion ($14 billion) cheque for a big stake in the world’s current hottest start-up, OpenAI.

Microsoft aims to position itself at the vanguard of a new era in artificial intelligence, with huge influence over the rapidly developing field of generative AI. The technology promises to usher in changes in how doctors and teachers deliver medical and educational advice, and has lawyers, marketers, artists and other white-collar professionals worrying about where they fit in.