Microsoft wants laptop users to get so comfortable with its artificial intelligence chatbot that it will remember everything you鈥檙e doing on your computer and help figure out what you want to do next.
The software giant on Monday revealed a new class of AI-imbued personal computers as it confronts heightened competition from Big Tech rivals in pitching generative AI technology that can compose documents, make images and serve as a lifelike personal assistant at work or home.
The announcements ahead of Microsoft鈥檚 annual Build developer conference centered on fusing its AI assistant, called Copilot, into the Windows operating system for PCs, where Microsoft already has the eyes of millions of consumers.
The new features will include Windows Recall, giving the AI assistant what Microsoft describes as 鈥減hotographic memory鈥� of a person鈥檚 virtual activity. Microsoft promises to protect users鈥� privacy by giving them the option to filter out what they don鈥檛 want tracked, and keeping the tracking on the device.
It鈥檚 a step toward machines that 鈥渋nstantly see us, hear, reason about our intent and our surroundings,鈥� said CEO Satya Nadella.
鈥淲e鈥檙e entering this new era where computers not only understand us, but can actually anticipate what we want and our intent,鈥� Nadella said at an event at the company鈥檚 headquarters in Redmond, Washington.
The conference that starts Tuesday in Seattle follows big AI announcements last week from rival Google, as well as Microsoft鈥檚 close business partner OpenAI, which built the AI large language models on which Microsoft鈥檚 Copilot is based.
Google rolled out a retooled search engine that periodically puts AI-generated summaries over website links at the top of the results page; while also showing off a still-in-development AI assistant Astra that will be able to 鈥渟ee鈥� and converse about things shown through a smartphone鈥檚 camera lens.
ChatGPT-maker OpenAI unveiled a new version of its chatbot last week, demonstrating an AI voice assistant with human characteristics that can banter about what someone鈥檚 wearing and even attempt to assess a person鈥檚 emotions. The voice sounded so much like Scarlett Johansson playing an AI character in the sci-fi movie 鈥淗er鈥� that OpenAI dropped the voice from its collection Monday.
OpenAI also rolled out a new desktop version of ChatGPT designed for Apple鈥檚 Mac computers.
Next up is Apple鈥檚 own annual developers conference in June. Apple CEO Tim Cook signaled at the company鈥檚 annual shareholder meeting in February that it has been making big investments in generative AI.
Some of Microsoft鈥檚 announcements Monday appeared designed to blunt whatever Apple has in store. The newly AI-enhanced Windows PCs will start rolling out on June 18 on computers made by Microsoft partners Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Samsung, as well as on Microsoft鈥檚 Surface line of devices. But they鈥檒l be reserved for premium models starting at $999.
While Copilot is rooted in OpenAI鈥檚 large language models, Microsoft said the new AI PCs will also rely heavily on its own homegrown 鈥渟mall language models鈥� that are designed to be more efficient and able to more easily run on a consumer鈥檚 personal device.
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The Associated Press
