Microsoft wants laptop users to feel so comfortable with its AI chatbot that it will remember everything you’re doing on your computer and help you figure out what you want to do next.
The software giant on Monday unveiled an upgraded version of Copilot, its AI assistant, as it faces increased competition from big tech rivals in launching generative AI technology that can compose documents, create images and serve as a personal assistant. realistic at work or at home.
Announcements ahead of Microsoft’s annual Build developer conference in Seattle focused on bringing artificial intelligence features to a product where Microsoft already has the eyes of millions of consumers: the Windows operating system for personal computers.
New features will include Windows Recall, which will allow the AI assistant to “virtually access what you’ve seen or done on your PC in a way that appears to have photographic memory.” Microsoft promises to protect users’ privacy by giving them the option to filter what they don’t want to be tracked.
The conference follows big AI announcements last week from rival Google, as well as Microsoft’s close business partner OpenAI, which built the big AI language models on which Microsoft’s Copilot is based.
Google launched a revamped search engine that periodically places AI-generated summaries in website links at the top of the results page; while also showing off an AI assistant, Astra, still in development, that will be able to “see” and converse about things displayed through a smartphone’s camera lens.
OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, unveiled a new version of its chatbot last week, demonstrating an AI voice assistant with human characteristics that can joke about what someone is wearing and even attempt to assess a person’s emotions. The voice sounded so much like Scarlett Johansson playing an AI character in the sci-fi movie “Her” that OpenAI removed the voice from its collection on Monday.
Although Microsoft has invested billions in OpenAI, the startup also launched a new desktop version of ChatGPT designed for Apple’s Mac computers.
Next up is Apple’s annual developer conference in June. Apple CEO Tim Cook noted at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in February that he has been making big investments in generative AI.
Some of Microsoft’s announcements on Monday seemed designed to mitigate what Apple has in store. The new AI-enhanced Windows PCs will begin rolling out on June 18 on computers made by Microsoft partners Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Samsung, as well as Microsoft’s line of Surface devices. But they will be reserved for premium models starting at $999.
