During Microsoft’s Envision Tour, currently taking place in London, CEO Satya Nadella took the stage to talk about how AI (artificial intelligence) will be the future of the company – and usher in a new technological revolution.
I was at the event and during my time there it was clear that Microsoft as a whole is really pinning its hopes on AI. While there’s a lot to be excited about, I worry that the company’s fixation on AI could cause it to forget some of the other things the company is good at.
Besides Nadella, one of the most recognizable CEOs in the world and always a passionate, intelligent and interesting speaker, Copilot was the real star of the show. Microsoft’s AI assistant is popping up on Windows 11 PCs around the world (more than Microsoft apparently expected), but Windows Copilot is just one guise: as Microsoft announced at an earlier event, there are actually several Copilot assistants that are integrated into its selected products.
Envision is a predominantly enterprise-focused event, so we’ve heard a lot about how Copilot has changed the way Microsoft 365 customers work. I listened with interest to a breakout session discussing how Copilot integrates into GitHub – the massive open source code repository that Microsoft acquired a few years ago. With Copilot, software developers can dramatically speed up the coding process. Microsoft is keen to emphasize that AI is a tool that people use, not something that will replace people. However, it’s clear that for all of Microsoft’s evangelism about how Copilot can improve our lives, many people are still concerned that it could one day take their jobs.
Nadella’s keynote speech was about this, and perhaps unsurprisingly, she thinks AI (and copilots in particular) is not a threat to people’s jobs, but an opportunity.
“The era of LLMs (Large Language Models) is the biggest leveler when it comes to climbing the learning curve – one of the most exciting is Security Copilot,” Nadella shared. “We have a shortage of security professionals and we need people to become professionals who can fill these gaps. At work, with Security Copilot, your learning curve is curved – and that’s exciting.”
Nadella’s point is that instead of seeing a job you don’t feel qualified for and not applying for it, AI can help train you for the job, potentially opening up jobs to a wide range of people who may not have applied. It’s a bold hope: I’m not so convinced that many companies will be eager to hire people with no experience or qualifications for key roles and let AI fill the gaps. However, he made a much more compelling argument about how learning skills related to using AI can be a very strong addition to people’s resumes – which is something almost anyone can do right now.
“An assistant who guides you every step of the way. That will be groundbreaking.”
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft
Nadella’s confidence in AI depends on how accessible the technology is to people around the world. He spoke of his dream ‘where eight billion people can have a personal teacher in their pocket, a doctor who can give you advice… just think what this would mean for the freedom of choice for each individual. Something I dream many of us, myself included, worry about going (outside their comfort zone). An assistant who guides you every step of the way. That will change the game.”
There’s no doubt that Nadella sees Microsoft’s future as inextricably linked to AI, and that we are on the cusp of a massive revolution.
“It reminds me of the Microsoft I joined in ’92,” he told the crowd. “The reason I say that is because the PC – and Windows in particular – was transformative in the workplace and in workflow. We all remember what work was like before email, word processing and spreadsheets, and what happened after… At least I do.”
The right direction?
Nadella’s belief in AI is certainly compelling, and I am incredibly excited about the possibilities the technology offers. However, whether or not I agree with his statement during his keynote that AI is “bigger than the PC, bigger than mobile” is another question.
While Microsoft’s forays into AI through the Bing search engine haven’t convinced me to ditch Google or switch to the Edge browser, based on what I’ve tried with Copilot in Windows 11, I’m under the impression – even though it’s clearly still early days for the feature (it’s currently still in preview, with a full release later).
But there has been a noticeable shift in Microsoft’s view of itself – and who its customers are. There’s a growing sense that Microsoft is focusing more on business users – and not just on events like Envision, which should be business first.
Take the recent launch of Surface products. In the past, Surface devices were aspirational products aimed at consumers to take on Apple, such as the Surface Pro 9 and Surface Laptop 4. Then the Surface Go series offered budget products that brought devices with a premium feel to consumers who could not afford a flagship. models. Even with noble failures like the Surface Earbuds or the Surface Duo dual-screen phone, it was clear that Microsoft didn’t just want to be seen as the software company behind Office, but also wanted to appeal to consumers, especially consumers. who may be influenced by Apple’s flashy devices.
That Microsoft seems to have disappeared. The new line of Surface devices consisted of boring, iterative upgrades, with some baffling choices, like making the Surface Go 4 available only to commercial partners. With major acquisitions from companies like GitHub and LinkedIn, it’s no surprise that consumers may feel like the company isn’t interested in them.
So this move toward AI is important for Microsoft for many reasons – and not just in all the ways Nadella envisions. Microsoft has a lot of big ideas about how AI can help us with our careers (and help companies get more out of their employees) – but I want to see more about how AI can help with our lives, and Surface devices could have been the perfect devices for that. So it’s a shame that Microsoft seems to be losing interest in them.
These concerns aside, I can’t help but be carried away by Nadella’s clear passion for AI and his belief in the possibilities it offers. One thing he said that really stuck with me is that “AI is only real to me if it can make a real difference.” I can’t argue with that.