January 2024

From diving 20,000 leagues under the sea to exploring a galaxy far, far away, sci-fi minds have tried for centuries to envision the tech of tomorrow. They’ve filled their fictional landscapes with an inspiring array of whiz-bang gizmos.

Holograms? Handheld communicators? Chatty bots? Ha!! Like, can you even imagine??

Well … OK, but we are still waiting for other pop culture prophecies to come true, from hyperdrive to hover craft.

In this issue, we’ll explore several tech advances that just landed (or are arriving soon), including Copilot GPTs, available now to help you get fit or see more of the world. And we’ll reveal how you can use AI to assemble your best looks for big days or date nights yet to come.

The future awaits!

No doubt, 2023 marked the year that AI broke through. But here in the opening weeks of 2024, we already can foresee a fresh crop of AI inventions, including the introduction of Microsoft Copilot Pro.

Available via subscription, Copilot Pro offers a single AI experience that runs across your devices, providing advanced assistance in writing, coding, designing and learning. It gives you enhanced image creation plus access to GPT-4 during peak times for faster performance.

Also fresh from our engineers’ minds: Copilot GPTs, a customized version of Copilot to help you shop, travel, and cook.

And it won’t be long before you can access an AI-powered assistant with the simple push of a button. A new Copilot key will be added to Windows 11 PCs, with availability beginning in late January through spring.  It will join the keyboards of Surface PCs as well.

The new key launches Copilot in Windows, which helps you pluck answers and inspirations from across the web.

Meanwhile, let’s picture a whole new day in your kitchen – a time when way less food gets wasted. It’s a big bite: More than 30% of the world’s food is lost or discarded annually.

We’re inspired by Sowmya Magham’s AI discovery. Her popular baking videos and posts include – get this – “tech-inspired cookies,” made with chocolate and espresso. When Magham asked Copilot how to reuse her leftover ingredients, it stirred up some sustainable dessert recipes. That’s one sweet hack.

Speaking of sweet, we asked Image Creator from Designer to produce a picture of a dog pressing a future Copilot key on a PC to help him fetch balls. What an organized boy!

Who am I wearing? Oh, it’s AI

A new year can mean a new look. But we know it can be a stretch to find just the right outfit for special moments: a big concert, a trendy festival, a beach vacation.

Now there’s help. Myntra, India’s largest online fashion retailer, offers an AI shopping assistant that responds to natural language queries like: “What clothes should I buy to wear to the Super Bowl?” (Hey, we can dream.)

Launched on the Myntra app, the assistant uses Azure OpenAI Service to recommend complete outfits from more than 2 million styles and 6,000-plus brands that span the company’s e-comm platform.

Her lifeline to listen 

Imagine that all the spoken words flowing your way – from chats with friends to advice from doctors – sound like gibberish. You can hear them but it’s like everyone around you is using an exotic language.

That’s long been Hiromi Soeda’s experience. The Tokyo mother has an auditory disorder that prevents her brain from processing audible words. It’s cost her jobs and made her feel isolated. But that all changed when Soeda began using YYProbe, an app from Japan’s Aisin Corp.

The app’s new summarization feature, powered by generative AI, lets Soeda use her mobile device to read live transcripts during her conversations – and peruse recaps after the talking is done.

Every night: a road game 

The open road can be a lonely place.

Just ask Trent Arant. He’s spent nearly five years traveling North America, living and working in his custom-built van, accompanied only by his dog Millie. He shares their wandering adventures with half a million YouTube followers.

But vanlife can bring solitude so Arant uses online gaming to stay connected with friends.

Aboard his “luxurious battle station on wheels,” he uses his PC gaming station to play Fortnite, Call of Duty and more. “It’s my way of relaxing,” he says, “after a hard or bad day.”

We hope “The Monthly Tech-In” feeds your digital appetite. Between issues, keep current with the latest Microsoft innovations by following us on LinkedIn or by visiting us at Microsoft Source.

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