It is a simple evolution in the ergonomics of IT tools, but it reflects a fundamental transformation which concerns all digital uses. During the year 2024, new keyboards, dedicated to computers running under Microsoft’s Windows operating system, will integrate a “Copilot” key, giving access to generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, developed or promoted by the Redmond (Washington State) giant, we learned on Thursday January 4. These make it possible to generate content (text, image, song, computer code) from a simple request and with a quality close to human production.
For Microsoft, this is the most significant change to the keyboards used by its users since the introduction, in 1994, of the “Menu” button bearing the Windows logo. By carrying out this dusting, the American firm is sending a strong message about its strategy in the years to come. “We see this as a new tipping point”, commented Yusuf Mehdi, vice-president of the company, who continued: “This will not only simplify users’ computing experience, but also amplify it, making 2024 the year of the PC with AI. » Concretely, the company intends to boost all its software with the capabilities enabled by artificial intelligence.
Spectacular ambitions
By launching this new standard, Microsoft confirms its intention to become one of the main entry points into the world of generative AI, whether for individuals or for businesses – where it is particularly well established. Although the company only produces very few terminals, through its Surface product range, it sets the trends for PC manufacturers (Dell, Lenovo or HP), knowing that between 70% and 80% of the computer fleet works under Windows. Announcements could be made as early as next week, in Las Vegas (Nevada), by hardware manufacturers, as part of the Consumer Electronics Show (January 9 to 12), the world’s largest consumer electronics show.
Microsoft’s ambitions in the field of generative artificial intelligence have been spectacularly manifested by a massive investment ($11 billion, or 10.3 billion euros, announced in 2020 and 2023) in Open AI, the company that develops the ChatGPT software, from which it benefits within Copilot.