Microsoft Says It's Developing 'Ever Present' AI Assistant

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Facts

  • Microsoft's artificial intelligence (AI) chief Mustafa Suleyman said the company is developing 'ever present, persistent, [and] very capable' versions of its product Copilot, which is an AI personal assistant.[1]
  • He said that besides helping users keep up with daily schedules, Copilot will also be able to remember things like favorite dining spots or the last book a user talked about — arguing that it will encourage people to trust AI with their personal information.[2]
  • Suleyman said some of the features that are already being released were created by an 'entire army' of creative directors, including psychologists, novelists, and comedians.[3]
  • For a $20 monthly Copilot subscription, he said users can leverage the 'Think Deeper' feature, in which the AI will help consider life choices, such as what city to move to. He added that eventually, if given permission, Copilot will learn about its users by analyzing Word documents, Windows desktops, and gaming consoles.[3]
  • Regarding concerns, Suleyman said existing devices like phones and TVs are already 'recording continuously everywhere.' Citing the example of iPhones recording the surrounding audio and video when taking photos, he argued, 'Most people love that feature.'[1]

Sources: [1]BBC News, [2]AutoGPT Official and [3]Reuters.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Medium. Microsoft is changing the virtual assistant game — not only does it have remarkably advanced long-term memory, decision-making, and reasoning skills, but it's able to utilize these capabilities in real time with its human users. AI assistants will soon know what users want before it's asked — establishing an unprecedentedly efficient work life.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Washington Post. Before we jump on the AI assistant bandwagon, we must consider the serious risks. AI assistants are built to monitor, record, and analyze every minute of daily life, but they can't distinguish between sensitive and nonsensitive topics. This has already led to uncomfortable in-office data leaks, with more to come if consumers simply hand over private information to these products.

Predictions