Over the last two months, Microsoft has dived fully into AI through its partnership with OpenAI. By leveraging ChatGPT and the GPT-4 AI model, Microsoft has brought natural language and image processing to search with Bing Chat and Bing Image Creator, automation to Office with Microsoft 365 Copilot, and to cloud development through Azure OpenAI Service.
Microsoft has come a long way since it was founded back in the 1980s, but how does company co-founder Bill Gates see Microsoft's new direction? Well, he has written a post on his GatesNotes blog where he offers effusive praise of Microsoft's embrace of AI technology.
He says he takes inspiration from the major gains made to mainstream AI in recent months. Gates says he thinks AI can help to remove inequality in the world, boost productivity, and even have a positive impact on personal health.
“The development of AI is as fundamental as the creation of the microprocessor, the personal computer, the Internet, and the mobile phone. It will change the way people work, learn, travel, get health care, and communicate with each other. Entire industries will reorient around it. Businesses will distinguish themselves by how well they use it.”
AI Growth
Microsoft has been thriving over the last 10 years as a cloud provider. However, the company has always struggled to make strides in consumer categories. While AI will be fundamental to Microsoft's enterprise solutions, it is also paving the way for a new era of consumer usership in Bing and Microsoft Edge.
Gates says AI will continue to develop and will transform productivity and how we interact with technology:
“Eventually your main way of controlling a computer will no longer be pointing and clicking or tapping on menus and dialogue boxes. Instead, you'll be able to write a request in plain English. (And not just English—AIs will understand languages from around the world. In India earlier this year, I met with developers who are working on AIs that will understand many of the languages spoken there.)”
Tip of the day: When using your Windows 10 laptop or convertible with a mobile hotspot you might want to limit the Internet bandwidth your PC uses. In our tutorial we are showing you how to set up a metered connection in Windows 11 or Windows 10 and how to turn it off again, if needed.
