Microsoft is gearing up to showcase its latest advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) at the upcoming Build conference, scheduled for next month. With AI taking center stage, the tech giant is poised to unveil a suite of AI tools designed to enhance the Windows experience on PCs and Azure cloud services.
Leading the charge on AI at Build will be Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft’s newly-appointed VP of AI, who brings with him a wealth of experience from his time at DeepMind, the AI research company acquired by Google in 2014. Suleyman will share the keynote stage with CEO Satya Nadella and other Microsoft executives, outlining the company’s ambitious AI vision.
For Windows users, one of the key highlights will be AI-powered enhancements to the open-source PowerToys suite. Among these enhancements is the introduction of an "Advanced Paste" feature, which utilizes on-device AI models to intelligently reformat text. Additionally, Microsoft will tease AI capabilities that promise to enable deeper interaction within Windows apps, enriching users' digital experiences.
On the Azure front, developers can anticipate updates to Microsoft’s AI safety tools aimed at mitigating risks such as explicit content generation. Furthermore, the company will showcase enhancements to its Copilot AI assistant for Azure, empowering developers with advanced AI-driven assistance.
A significant announcement expected at Build is Microsoft’s support for running AI inferencing on Arm-based neural processing units (NPUs). This move will enable energy-efficient AI processing on Windows on Arm PCs and Azure cloud instances, paving the way for scalable and cost-effective AI solutions.
This focused push on AI aligns with CEO Satya Nadella’s earlier declaration that 2024 would mark the year AI becomes a “first-class” feature across Microsoft’s product ecosystem. Microsoft's commitment to AI innovation is evident in its ongoing efforts, from the expansion of Azure AI services to the integration of dedicated "Copilot" buttons in its latest Surface PCs for seamless voice assistant access. As anticipation builds for Build 2024, the tech world eagerly awaits the unveiling of Microsoft’s latest AI advancements.
