The first U.S. Senate AI Insight Forum was a lively event, with xAI’s Elon Musk calling for a federal department of artificial intelligence while Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg emphasized a need for transparency and Google’s Sundar Pichai stressed AI’s potential to improve the human condition with regard to things like health and energy. The three-hour meeting was organized by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) who said the crash course would address both how AI “enriches our world and opens the door to new prosperity” and how society can “minimize the very real risks.” Continue reading Tech Titans Convene in Washington for First AI Insight Forum

Microsoft Cloud drove record sales and profits for Q2, which saw a year-over-year revenue gain of 8 percent to $56.2 billion for April through June. Net income topped $20 billion, a 20 percent gain that beat analyst expectations and the company’s own estimates. Microsoft Cloud revenue for Q2 was up 21 percent, to $30.3 billion. And the company is beginning to see the results of its investments in artificial intelligence. Q2 is Microsoft’s second record-setting quarter this year, topping the three-month high of $52.9 billion in Q1. The previous profit record was $18.8 billion in Q4 2021. Continue reading Microsoft Q2 Marks a Quarterly Sales Record of $56.2 Billion

The Biden administration has committed $140 million to create seven new artificial intelligence research hubs, bringing the national total to 25. The announcement coincided with Vice President Kamala Harris’ Thursday meeting with representatives from Alphabet, Anthropic, Microsoft, and OpenAI and new White House guidance on AI development. The developments are part of an effort to curtain security risks associated with AI and ensure that it is implemented responsibly. “The private sector has an ethical, moral and legal responsibility to ensure the safety and security of their products,” Harris said following the meeting, which included a drop-in by President Biden. Continue reading Biden Administration Hosts Tech Elite at White House AI Meet

Microsoft is giving its Office 365 productivity suite an AI update using OpenAI technology, including GPT-4, to power the new Microsoft 365 Copilot, “your copilot for work.” In February, Microsoft generated attention by adding ChatGPT to its Bing search platform, but it says Copilot is a much bigger deal. Combining the power of large language models with data in the Microsoft 365 apps, Copilot promises “more agency” via natural language, a “universal interface.” A new Business Chat feature turns prompts like “update my team on the new product strategy” into a summary of the latest meeting notes, emails and chat threads. Continue reading Microsoft Creating AI Updates for Business Productivity Apps

On the heels of debuting conversational AI to search, Microsoft is leveraging artificial intelligence in corporate applications that have traditionally been dominated by competitors like Oracle, Salesforce and SAP. Dynamics 365 Copilot is an AI assistant debuting in preview as part of the software giant’s business suite. Based on technology from OpenAI, it is designed to handle tasks including sales, marketing, customer service and supply chain. It can also draft contextual chat and email answers to customer-service queries. Targeting customers and categories for sales pitches and writing product listings for e-commerce are also among its skills. Continue reading Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 Copilot Brings AI to Business Apps

Meta Platforms has unveiled a new generative artificial intelligence language system called LLaMA, which doesn’t chat, but is designed as a research tool the company hopes will help “democratizing access in this important, fast-changing field.” The LLaMA (Large Language Model Meta AI) ranges in size from 7B to 65B parameters. Touted as a “smaller, more performant model,” LLaMA enables those members of the research community that do not “have access to large amounts of infrastructure to study these models,” Meta explains. Training smaller foundation models requires less computing power and resources for testing and validation. Continue reading Meta Says Its LLaMA AI for Researchers Does More with Less

Google unveiled new search features during its “Live from Paris” event via a YouTube stream. The emphasis was on multisearch, which will go live globally to mobile platforms in more than 70 languages where Google Lens is used, according to the company. Introduced last year, the multisearch feature looks through images and text, driven by an AI technology the company has developed called MUM, for Multitask Unified Model. There were no new announcements regarding Bard, Google’s new conversational AI search tool, although media outlets reported that Bard responded incorrectly in a Twitter promo the same day. Continue reading Google Touts Search Plans During Its ‘Live from Paris’ Event

It appears 2023 will mark a critical inflection point for artificial intelligence, according to Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith, who calls AI “the most consequential technology advance of our lifetime” and says it will change “almost everything. Because, like no technology before it, these AI advances augment humanity’s ability to think, reason, learn and express ourselves.” One example is Microsoft’s infusion of AI in two common tools — the search engine and the web browser — with new versions of its Bing search engine and Edge browser, tools positioned “as an AI co-pilot for the web.” Continue reading AI ‘Inflection Point’ in 2023 Ushered in with Search, Browsing

Microsoft unveiled a ChatGPT-powered version of its Bing search engine on Tuesday, following Google’s announcement it is testing a conversational artificial intelligence app called Bard, expected to launch publicly in the coming weeks with applications for products starting with Google Search. Google will next month begin onboarding developers, creators and enterprises for its generative language API (which will initially utilize a lightweight version of LaMDA and eventually offer “a range of models”). Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI and Google’s new plans may be putting pressure on Apple and Meta. “A race starts today,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said. Continue reading Google and Microsoft Announce AI-Based Search Functions

Microsoft is expanding its relationship with OpenAI, entering what it calls “the third phase of our long-term partnership” with a multiyear, multibillion dollar investment to accelerate AI breakthroughs to ensure these benefits are broadly shared with the world.” Although the companies did not disclose financial terms, Microsoft’s investment was previously reported as $10 billion. The New York Times reports OpenAI is also in talks to complete a tender offer for as much as $300 million (contingent on the number of employees selling stock), “which would value the company at around $29 billion.” Continue reading Microsoft Invests $10 Billion in OpenAI, Valued at About $29B

Microsoft plans to add OpenAI’s artificial intelligence app ChatGPT to its Azure OpenAI Service, which is now being made generally available after being offered to select enterprise customers in limited availability since November 2021. ChatGPT’s Azure debut expands on the existing relationship with OpenAI, in which Microsoft in 2019 invested $1 billion, a stake it is considering to expanding by another $10 billion. Microsoft couched the moves as a ”continued commitment to democratizing AI, and ongoing partnership with OpenAI.” Microsoft chief exec Satya Nadella also announced the company plans to eventually include AI tools like ChatGPT into all of its products. Continue reading Microsoft Adding ChatGPT to Wide Release of Azure OpenAI

Microsoft reported revenue up 14 percent year-over-year to $51.9 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended June 30. Net income was up 2 percent, to $16.7 billion for the quarter but down almost 19 percent for the year, to $61.3 billion for the 12 month period. Although the results fell short of expectations, Microsoft chairman and CEO Satya Nadella identified the Microsoft Cloud sector as a bright spot, pointing out that it “surpassed $25 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time, up 28 percent and 33 percent in constant currency,” despite the tough macroeconomic environment. Continue reading Soft PC Sales, Currency Exchange Cloud Microsoft Earnings

After much speculation, Netflix has revealed it has chosen Microsoft to help with configuring and launching an ad-supported subscription tier. Netflix announced plans for the new tier in April, explaining that a partner might be brought in to accelerate the effort and fuel innovation. Microsoft will supply ad-placement technology and ads served on Netflix will be exclusively booked through the Microsoft platform. “Microsoft offered the flexibility to innovate over time on both the technology and sales side, as well as strong privacy protections for our members,” Netflix COO Greg Peters explained in a statement. Continue reading Netflix Names Microsoft as Sales and Tech Partner for Ad Tier

Microsoft has begun laying the groundwork to gain regulatory approval for its $68 billion Activision Blizzard bid, assuring D.C. decision-makers the purchase will not improperly advantage its own platforms and services. In an effort at transparency, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and president Brad Smith say they’re “sharing where we’re going with members of Congress” and meeting with think tank representatives to compile a best-practices road map to ensure lawmakers and stakeholders the deal presents no threat. Microsoft says it wants Activision’s IP not to dominate existing markets but to help stake its claim in the emerging metaverse. Continue reading Microsoft Takes Its Case for Activision Purchase to Capitol Hill

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella thinks the metaverse will be transformative. “Just like the first wave of the Internet allowed everybody to build a website, I think the next wave of the Internet will be a more open world where people can build their own metaverse worlds, whether they’re organizations or game developers or anyone else,” Nadella told analysts on an earnings call last week. The remarks follow Nadella’s January 18 statement that Microsoft’s $69 billion bid for Activision Blizzard “will provide building blocks for the metaverse.” Microsoft expects the deal to close in fiscal 2023, which begins July 1. Continue reading Microsoft CEO Nadella Details His Vision of Metaverse-for-All