Latest news with #MicrosoftAI
The Verge
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Microsoft's AI CEO thinks Copilot will age and ‘have a room that it lives in'
Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft's AI CEO, has a vision of Copilot that involves it being so highly personalized that 'it will age.' Microsoft has been increasingly pushing Copilot to be a personalized AI assistant, with a big redesign last year that included a conversational voice mode. Now, Suleyman's Microsoft AI team is launching a new Copilot virtual character that will interact in real-time with you. 'Copilot will certainly have a kind of permanent identity, a presence, and it will have a room that it lives in, and it will age,' says Suleyman on an episode of The Colin & Samir Show this week. 'I'm really interested in this idea of digital patina. The things I love in my world are the things that are a little bit worn or rubbed down, and have scuff marks. Unfortunately in the digital world we don't have a sense of age.' Part of this idea of a permanent identity for Copilot is a new Appearance feature that Microsoft has started previewing this week. 'Copilot Appearance is an experiment that gives you a new, visual way to chat with Copilot, powered by real-time expressions, voice, and conversational memory,' says Microsoft. Suleyman gave us an early glimpse at Copilot Appearance during Microsoft's 50th anniversary event a few months ago. It's essentially a virtual character for Copilot, to respond to queries you have — a little like how Cortana used to animate. Copilot Appearance will smile, nod, and even act surprised depending on the conversation. Early access for Copilot Appearance is live now in Microsoft's Copilot Labs, but it will only work for a subset of users in the US, UK, and Canada. Copilot Appearance is the next step in Microsoft's mission to personalize its AI assistant. Suleyman, who helped co-found Google DeepMind, joined Microsoft more than a year ago to lead a new team that handles the company's consumer-facing AI products, like Copilot, Bing, and Edge. Suleyman has quickly turned Copilot into something that closely resembles Pi, the personalized AI chatbot he was working on at Inflection AI. Most of the Inflection AI team joined Microsoft, and Copilot was overhauled months later with its voice and vision redesign. Suleyman also hinted that the Windows desktop might be where Microsoft turns its AI attention next. 'I hate my desktop,' said Suleyman on the podcast episode. 'I look at my screen and I'm like 'shit man I have a billboard in front of me.' It's just so noisy, so neon, and it's all competing for my attention. It just looks ugly.' While Microsoft AI is improving voice and video, Suleyman says he wants a 'quieter, simpler, optimized working environment' and that he's thinking about improving his 'workshop' in the future. That might be a hint at potential changes to the Copilot app on Windows in the future, or even bigger changes with Microsoft's Copilot Plus PCs. Suleyman said he has customized his phone UI so much to avoid distractions that it's basically a black and white theme designed to hide things. 'I use a little rose tint so everything else is noised out, most of the apps are moved to the left and right, and my home screen is really just two or three primary apps,' he said. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Tom Warren Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All AI Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Microsoft Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tech
News18
5 days ago
- Business
- News18
Indian-Origin Man Leaves Google After 16 Years, Finds Microsoft ‘Refreshing'
Last Updated: Amar Subramanya got the opportunity to talk to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman. In a major push to strengthen its Artificial Intelligence capabilities, Microsoft has hired 24 researchers, developers, and product specialists from Google DeepMind over the past six months. Among the notable recruits is Amar Subramanya, former technical head of Google's Gemini chatbot, who has joined Microsoft as Corporate Vice President of AI. His new role was confirmed through a recent LinkedIn post. In his LinkedIn post, Amar Subramanya expressed excitement about his new role and praised Microsoft's work culture, describing it as 'refreshingly low ego yet bursting with ambition." As Corporate Vice President of AI, his responsibilities will include enhancing Microsoft's AI offerings, such as Copilot and Bing. 'Super excited to share that I've started a new position as Corporate VP, AI at Microsoft AI," Amar Subramanya wrote in his LinkedIn post. 'After only one week in my new work, I'm already feeling extremely energised. The culture here is surprisingly humble yet bursting with aspiration." Furthermore, he compared the company's work culture to that of a new start-up and described it as 'fast-paced, collaborative, and intensely focused on developing really creative, cutting-edge foundation models that enable enjoyable AI-powered products like Microsoft Copilot." Not just this, Amar also got the opportunity to talk to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman. As soon as the post was shared, several LinkedIn users congratulated Amar on his new journey with Microsoft. However, his comment about Microsoft's work culture being 'refreshingly low ego" raised a few eyebrows. Many even congratulated him. A LinkedIn user commented, 'Congratulations Amar! They are lucky to have you!" Another one wrote, 'Awesome!!!! Congratulations, Amar." A person shared, 'Congrats! They're very fortunate to have you on the team." Other Recruits Apart from Amar, according to a report by Financial Times, other notable hires include Sonal Gupta (engineering lead), Adam Sadovsky (formerly senior director at DeepMind), and Tim Frank (product manager), who have all taken on leadership roles as Microsoft expands its AI division. Microsoft Layoffs This hiring comes at a time when Microsoft has laid off over 15,000 employees over the past two years. Despite the workforce reduction, the company continues to double down on artificial intelligence, with significant investments in tools like Copilot and automation. Internally, Microsoft has been urging employees to upskill in AI, with leadership emphasising that integrating AI into daily work is no longer optional but essential. Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: July 24, 2025, 16:03 IST News viral Indian-Origin Man Leaves Google After 16 Years, Finds Microsoft 'Refreshing' Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
CNBC
22-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Microsoft poaches more Google DeepMind AI talent as it beefs up Copilot
Microsoft has hired around two dozen employees from Alphabet's Google DeepMind artificial intelligence research lab in recent months, a person familiar with the recruiting told CNBC. The person asked not to be named in order to discuss internal matters. On Tuesday, Amar Subramanya, who worked at Google for 16 years, most recently as a vice president of engineering developing the Gemini assistant, said on LinkedIn that he has joined Microsoft AI as a corporate vice president. The Microsoft group works on the consumer-oriented Copilot assistant, as well as the Bing search engine. In June, Adam Sadovsky, with nearly 18 years of experience at Google, most recently as a distinguished software engineer and senior director at DeepMind, decamped to Microsoft. He's now a corporate vice president at Microsoft AI. Earlier this month, Sonal Gupta, a Google DeepMind engineering lead, said on her LinkedIn profile that she's now a member of technical staff on Suleyman's Microsoft AI team. Jonas Rothfuss took a technical staff role at Microsoft AI in May after spending a year as a research scientist at Google DeepMind. The movement of talent comes as tech megacaps have shelled out for AI experts. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said last month that Meta offered the startup's employees $100 million signing bonuses. Meta succeeded in hiring Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman. Google has hired the CEO and other employees of AI coding startup Windsurf in a $2.4 billion deal. Microsoft's new hires are joining the software company's AI group led by CEO Mustafa Suleyman, who reports to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Suleyman was a co-founder of DeepMind, which Google acquired in 2014. He left Google to run AI startup Inflection in 2022, and last year he became a Microsoft executive, bringing several of the startup's employees with him. Earlier this month, Microsoft said it was laying off around 9,000 employees, representing less than 4% of its global workforce.
Techday NZ
09-07-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
Bugcrowd names Umesh Shankar to board, bolstering AI security
Bugcrowd has appointed Umesh Shankar, Corporate Vice President of Data, Privacy & Security Engineering at Microsoft AI, to its Board of Advisors, marking a notable step in the company's focus on AI security expertise. Shankar brings substantial industry experience to the advisory board. At Microsoft AI, he leads teams responsible for ensuring the privacy and security of AI products, with a particular emphasis on maintaining user trust through privacy-first engineering practices. He previously held pivotal roles at Google for more than 18 years. During his tenure there, Shankar served as Distinguished Engineer and Chief Technologist for Google Cloud Security. In these roles, he led key initiatives related to data protection, key management, authentication, authorisation, and insider risk controls. Shankar was also instrumental in integrating generative AI functionalities into Google's security offerings, which improved automated security management capabilities. Beyond Google Cloud, Shankar contributed to the development of Google Assistant, focusing on developer tools, identity, monetisation, and discovery. Shankar's academic credentials include a PhD and MS in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley, specialising in security and privacy. He also holds a BA in Computer Science from Harvard University. With the increasing adoption of AI across sectors, Bugcrowd has underscored its commitment to providing robust crowdsourced security solutions, particularly for organisations integrating AI into their operations. The company emphasises that incorporating Shankar's expertise is aligned with its strategy to expand its platform capabilities, especially in AI-powered security. "I'm inspired by Bugcrowd's mission to help organizations proactively uncover and address vulnerabilities, strengthening cybersecurity through collaboration and innovation. I am excited to join Bugcrowd's Board of Advisors to help contribute to its efforts as it explores new ways to harness AI, foster trust, and support organizations in addressing emerging security challenges," said Umesh Shankar. Dave Gerry, Chief Executive Officer of Bugcrowd, commented on Shankar's addition to the Board of Advisors, highlighting the growing importance of AI security frameworks for organisations. "AI is no longer just hype—it's now a core part of technology stacks across industries. However, many organizations are still early in building the security, policy, and governance frameworks needed to support it. At Bugcrowd, AI is embedded into the fabric of our platform, powering innovations like CrowdMatch and enabling secure, confident deployment of LLM-based applications. We're committed to helping organizations de-risk their AI initiatives with the insights and guidance they need. And we're honored to welcome Umesh to our Board of Advisors, his deep expertise will be an invaluable asset," said Dave Gerry, CEO of Bugcrowd. Bugcrowd's approach to crowdsourced cybersecurity involves leveraging the skills of a broad community of security researchers, or ethical hackers, to identify potential system weaknesses. The company's platform uses AI-powered tools such as CrowdMatch, which aims to efficiently connect organisations with relevant cybersecurity expertise for tackling specific risks. According to the company, integrating AI into its processes supports scalable and adaptive security solutions that respond to evolving threats. The addition of Shankar to the board is expected to bolster Bugcrowd's capacity to advance its AI-powered crowdsourced intelligence offerings. The company points to the growing need for sophisticated security, policy, and governance measures in the context of rising AI adoption worldwide. Bugcrowd indicates that this latest appointment reflects its broader strategy to support organisations in navigating the complex digital risk environment created by modern AI applications. Under Shankar's guidance, Bugcrowd aims to further refine its product suite and reinforce its resources for clients seeking to secure AI-related systems and data. The appointment comes at a time when industries are grappling with new challenges in maintaining digital trust and compliance as AI technologies become more integral to business operations. The company noted that Shankar's background in both technical development and strategic AI integration aligns with Bugcrowd's priorities in this evolving landscape.
Time of India
02-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Microsoft's new AI tool a medical genius? Tech giant claims it is 4x more accurate than real doctors
Tech giant Microsoft, recently hit with a fresh round of layoffs, has developed a new medical AI tool that performs better than human doctors at complex health diagnoses, creating a 'path to medical superintelligence'. The Microsoft AI team shared research that demonstrated how AI can sequentially investigate and solve medicine's most complex diagnostic challenges—cases that expert physicians struggle to answer. Tech company's AI unit, led by the British tech pioneer Mustafa Suleyman , has developed a system that imitates a panel of expert physicians tackling 'diagnostically complex and intellectually demanding' cases. Microsoft AI Diagnostic Orchestrator (MAI-DxO) correctly diagnosed up to 85% of NEJM case proceedings, a rate more than four times higher than a group of experienced physicians. MAI-DxO also gets to the correct diagnosis more cost-effectively than physicians, the company said in a blog post. ALSO READ: Microsoft layoffs: Tech giant's sales head Judson Althoff asked to go on two-month leave. Here's why Microsoft says AI system better than doctors The Microsoft AI Diagnostic Orchestrator', or MAI-DxO for short, the AI-powered tool is developed by the company's AI health unit, which was founded last year by Mustafa Suleyman. The tech giant said when paired with OpenAI's advanced o3 AI model, its approach 'solved' more than eight of 10 case studies specially chosen for the diagnostic challenge. When those case studies were tried on practising physicians – who had no access to colleagues, textbooks or chatbots – the accuracy rate was two out of 10. Microsoft said it was also a cheaper option than using human doctors because it was more efficient at ordering tests. When benchmarked against real-world case records, the new medical AI tool 'correctly diagnoses up to 85% of NEJM case proceedings, a rate more than four times higher than a group of experienced physicians' while being more impressive is that these cases are from the New England Journal of Medicine and are very complex and require multiple specialists and tests before doctors can reach any conclusion. Live Events According to The Wired, the Microsoft team used 304 case studies sourced from the New England Journal of Medicine to devise a test called the Sequential Diagnosis Benchmark. A language model broke down each case into a step-by-step process that a doctor would perform in order to reach a diagnosis. ALSO READ: Melania should be on first boat: Deportation calls for US' First Lady gains traction amid Trump's immigration crackdown Microsoft new AI tool diagnosed 85% cases For this, the company used different large language models from OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic, Google, xAI and DeepSeek. Microsoft said that the new AI medical tool correctly diagnosed 85.5 per cent of cases, which is way better compared to experienced human doctors, who were able to correctly diagnose only 20 per cent of the cases. "This orchestration mechanism—multiple agents that work together in this chain-of-debate style—that's what's going to drive us closer to medical superintelligence,' Suleyman told The Wired. Microsoft announced it is building a system designed to mimic the step-by-step approach of real-world clinicians—asking targeted questions, ordering diagnostic tests, and narrowing down possibilities to reach an accurate diagnosis. For example, a patient presenting with a cough and fever might be guided through blood tests and a chest X-ray before the system determines a diagnosis like pneumonia. ALSO READ: Sean Diddy Combs' secret plan against his ex Jennifer Lopez emerges amid sex-trafficking trial Microsoft said its approach was able to wield a 'breadth and depth of expertise' that went beyond individual physicians because it could span multiple medical disciplines. It added: 'Scaling this level of reasoning – and beyond – has the potential to reshape healthcare. AI could empower patients to self-manage routine aspects of care and equip clinicians with advanced decision support for complex cases.' Microsoft acknowledged its work is not ready for clinical use. Further testing is needed on its 'orchestrator' to assess its performance on more common symptoms, for instance. Economic Times WhatsApp channel )
