Everything Announced at Microsoft Build 2024: Key Highlights

Microsoft’s newest announcements at their Build 2024 developer conference.

At the Microsoft Build 2024 conference, CEO Satya Nadella delivered an inaugural speech, emphasizing the vast potential of artificial intelligence and expressing optimism about the future.

Nadella started my presentation by discussing Microsoft’s long-held aspirations, which include creating computers that can effortlessly comprehend human requirements and leveraging artificial intelligence to manage the overwhelming amount of information users face today.

He emphasized that the latest advancements in AI are crucial to realizing these ambitious goals.

Sponsors and facilitators of artificial intelligence

During the Build 2024 conference, one of the key announcements was the advancement of the smart assistant “Copilot” into a full-fledged artificial intelligence agent.

This upgraded smart assistant aims to transform business operations by handling tasks that typically need human input.

Unlike its previous iterations, the new AI agents won’t just sit idle, waiting for user commands.

Instead, they will proactively manage tasks such as monitoring emails and completing data entry on the user’s device.

In the discussion, Charles Lamanna, Microsoft’s Executive Vice President of Business Applications and Platforms, highlighted that these proactive activities can greatly boost workplace efficiency.

He imagines situations where CableWhite manages queries from the IT service desk, guides new employees, and performs various other tasks.

An intelligent assistant can help onboard a new employee in a company by collecting human resources data, addressing his queries, introducing him to team members, providing training schedules, and arranging meetings during his first week.

This will enable HR staff to concentrate on more complex, strategic tasks.

The introduction of this kind of co-pilot has sparked worries among employees about potential job displacement.

Addressing these concerns, Lamanna emphasized that Copilot is specifically intended to handle repetitive and monotonous tasks within a job.

His objective is to free up time for employees so they can focus on more intricate tasks that demand human cognition.

He also mentioned, “we believe that Copilot will enable full automation of certain tasks,” but the silver lining is that these are generally tasks that no one wants to do.

Simultaneous translation 

At its secondary developers’ conference, Microsoft unveiled a notable new feature: an AI-driven translation and dubbing tool integrated into its Edge browser.

This groundbreaking feature is set to deliver real-time translations for videos on platforms like YouTube, LinkedIn, and Coursera, as well as on other Edge browsers.

This will significantly broaden the accessibility of content and eliminate language barriers. At launch, it will offer translations from Spanish to English and from English to various other languages such as German, Hindi, Italian, Russian, and Spanish, with intentions to incorporate additional languages over time.

Collaboration with Meta and Khan Academy

Microsoft has launched a new feature that enables Windows applications to extend into live 3D experiences using Meta Quest virtual reality glasses from Meta.

This functionality allows developers to build interactive 3D visualizations that can be rendered through Meta Quest glasses.

In the realm of education, Microsoft has teamed up with Khan Academy to deliver AI-powered educational tools to teachers across the United States.

This collaboration aims to enhance the learning experience and offer advanced educational resources to a broader audience.

Incorporating artificial intelligence into various technological domains.

At Build 2024, Microsoft highlighted its strategic emphasis on embedding AI technologies into both business and consumer tech domains.

This integration of AI tools is expected to boost productivity and open up fresh avenues for innovation. However, it also brings essential conversations about the ethical and practical considerations of AI in various workplaces.

The incorporation of artificial intelligence into everyday activities can be a mixed blessing.

While it promises enhanced efficiency, time savings, and innovative ways to complete various tasks, it also necessitates a cautious approach to ensure these technologies augment rather than replace human capabilities.

Human judgment and collaboration remain indispensable, and not all tasks will be apt for automation.

There are ongoing challenges with the interpretation of generative artificial intelligence models, particularly concerning the problem of hallucinations, where these models produce incorrect or misleading information that deviates significantly from their training data.

Microsoft has acknowledged this issue and has implemented numerous safeguards within its Capoyalot Studio framework to mitigate these risks.

The measures aim to ensure the intelligent assistant operates within defined boundaries and involves human oversight whenever necessary.

The Surface Laptop 6 boasts a higher speed compared to the MacBook Air.

Microsoft also revealed the new Surface Laptop, which is compatible with the Snapdragon processor.

The device boasts a refreshed design with slimmer bezels and a touch screen.

According to Microsoft, it is 80% faster than its predecessor and offers up to 22 hours of video playback.

The Surface Laptop 6 is available with screen sizes of 13.8 inches and 15 inches, with prices beginning at $999.99.

It is offered in blue, beige, black, and platinum color options.

Artificial intelligence tool Recall

One notable AI feature Microsoft has revealed for Copilot Plus computers is the Recall feature.

The new software operates on your personal computer, tracking all your activities and enabling you to search for and access any content you’ve engaged with.

This enables you to retrieve a conversation you had in apps such as Discord, or even a particular PowerPoint file you were working on.

This new feature enables users to locate files and other data they have accessed on their computers, including open tabs in an Internet browser.

Microsoft Build 2024 video

FAQ