Microsoft Build: Enhanced Security, Co-Pilot Plus PCs, Recall, and Security Updates

[00:00:02] It's Thursday, May 23rd, 2024, and I'm giving myself four things to know today from Microsoft Build.

[00:00:08] The Surface event highlights an AI-powered CoPilot Plus PCs enhance security and new AI tools.

[00:00:15] Microsoft expands CoPilot AI to automate IT tasks, boost collaboration and enhance productivity.

[00:00:22] The end of an era, Microsoft to depreciate NTLM and VB script and shifts to modern security measures.

[00:00:30] And Windows 11's recall feature sparks privacy and data security concerns.

[00:00:36] This is the Business of Tech.

[00:00:39] So, it's time to dig into Microsoft Build, which happened this week.

[00:00:44] It started with a pre-day covering Surface devices and then into the event.

[00:00:49] So I'm going to mix it all up with a focus on what matters to those delivering IT services.

[00:00:54] Microsoft's Surface event unveiled several significant announcements, including the launch of CoPilot Plus PCs featuring AI-powered ARM-based Snapdragon XElite and Plus processors,

[00:01:07] a new recall feature for logging and retrieving user interactions, expanded CoPilot integrations with Windows 11,

[00:01:14] a faster Surface Pro with an OLED display option, a redesigned Surface laptop with improved performance and longer battery life,

[00:01:22] and partnerships with Adobe, DaVinci Resolve, CapCut, and more to optimize their apps for CoPilot Plus PCs.

[00:01:30] And that recall tool? It's a new Windows 11 tool that tracks and retrieves everything done on the computer.

[00:01:37] It includes logging app activities, tracking communications and live meetings, and remembering visited websites.

[00:01:44] Recall provides a timeline interface and deep integration into Windows, unlike similar third-party apps.

[00:01:51] It requires Qualcomm's Snapdragon XElite chips and has minimum storage requirements.

[00:01:57] We'll talk a bit more about that later.

[00:02:00] Microsoft has announced a major security push for Windows 11, introducing new features and updates to enhance user protections.

[00:02:08] These include adopting the Pluton security processor in those CoPilot Plus PCs, local security authority protection on all PCs,

[00:02:17] Windows Hello enhanced sign-in security, smart app control, and Windows Hello and Win32 app isolation updates.

[00:02:26] Microsoft also introduced increased app vetting capabilities and hardened code to address cybersecurity challenges.

[00:02:33] Microsoft Edge will soon offer real-time video translation on sites like YouTube, LinkedIn, Coursera, and more.

[00:02:41] The AI-powered feature will be able to translate spoken content through dubbing and subtitles,

[00:02:47] making videos more accessible to those who are deaf or hard of hearing.

[00:02:51] Currently, it supports translation from Spanish to English and from English to German, Hindi, Italian, Russian, and Spanish.

[00:02:58] Microsoft plans to add more languages and supported websites in the future.

[00:03:03] Microsoft Azure AI Studio has been released with the PHY3 family of AI small language models and OpenAI's GPT-4.0 model as an API.

[00:03:14] Azure AI Studio allows developers to build custom CoPilot apps, while GPT-4.0 enables text, image, and audio processing in a single model.

[00:03:24] Microsoft also introduced the PHY3 Small, PHY3 Medium, and PHY3 Vision multimodal models optimized for resource-constrained environments.

[00:03:34] PHY3 Vision does not generate images, can understand and analyze them.

[00:03:39] The multimodal model is designed for mobile devices that can perform general visual reasoning tasks.

[00:03:45] Microsoft has also released other small models such as Orca Math, which reportedly outperforms larger models in solving math problems.

[00:03:53] Additional features include speech analytics and universal translation in Azure AI Speech.

[00:03:58] Plus, PHYsilica, a small language model built explicitly for CoPilot Plus PCs neural processing units.

[00:04:06] It will be embedded in all CoPilot Plus PCs starting in June.

[00:04:10] Microsoft's Model as a Service plan simplifies the deployment of AI models, allowing developers to focus on the creative process.

[00:04:18] With Model as a Service, developers can rent inference APIs and host fine-tuning without needing a virtual machine.

[00:04:25] Microsoft offers over 1,600 models through the platform with more to come, making it easier for developers to leverage AI functionality in their software.

[00:04:34] Why do we care?

[00:04:36] It's the context setting for what's coming in the following story too, and I'll get to recall as well.

[00:04:42] Here, I want to focus on Model as a Service, as a service is so overdone.

[00:04:47] Another buzzword that makes more sense is Marketplace.

[00:04:51] Microsoft is building a marketplace for all your model needs.

[00:04:54] That's my key takeaway, and it mirrors my conversation with Amazon's Ben Schreiner where Amazon Web Services is looking to do the same.

[00:05:03] In the role of advisor, you'll need to be the navigator here if model creation and build is the need.

[00:05:08] That said, you may be leveraging CoPilot more, and that comes next.

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[00:06:05] Let's do all the CoPilot stuff together.

[00:06:09] Microsoft is introducing AI-powered CoPilot agents to automate tasks and work as virtual employees.

[00:06:15] These team CoPilot agents can monitor email inboxes, automate tasks, and handle data entry.

[00:06:22] Businesses can create CoPilot agents for various purposes, such as an IT help desk service tasks and employee onboarding.

[00:06:31] It expands the capabilities of Microsoft's CoPilot AI technology to handle group collaboration, including keeping meetings on track, taking collaborative notes, managing projects, and assigning tasks.

[00:06:42] Users have control over the assistant and can override its choices or assign tasks to it.

[00:06:48] Team CoPilot offers services such as Meeting Facilitator, Group Collaborator, and Project Manager to increase productivity and collaboration.

[00:06:58] CoPilot Studio allows users to build custom CoPilots based on business data, while agents automate long-running processes and interact dynamically.

[00:07:07] Microsoft also enables users to add extensions and connectors to customize CoPilot for their specific needs.

[00:07:13] The company is previewing this capability to a small group of testers before a public preview later this year.

[00:07:19] Team CoPilot will be available in Microsoft Teams, Loop, and Planner, and a Microsoft 365 CoPilot license will be required to access it.

[00:07:28] Microsoft plans to integrate CoPilot into its services across Azure, Microsoft 365, and GitHub.

[00:07:35] GitHub CoPilot extensions will allow third-party companies to create plugins to access their services through GitHub.

[00:07:43] New CoPilots for enterprise software were also introduced, bringing automation to the office.

[00:07:47] However, adopting CoPilots will require giving Microsoft control over infrastructure and business operations.

[00:07:53] GitHub CoPilot extensions allow developers to build and deploy to the cloud using their preferred tools and services without leaving the IDE or GitHub.com.

[00:08:03] 16 initial extensions are offered by partners such as Datastacks, Docker, LambdaTest, LaunchDarkly, McKinsey & Co., Microsoft Azure & Teams, MongoDB, Octopus Deploy, Pangea, Heineken, ProductScience, Readme, Sentry, and Stripe.

[00:08:21] The future vision is to expand the ecosystem through the CoPilot Partner Program, making CoPilot for GitHub the most integrated and intelligent AI platform for software development.

[00:08:32] Now, why do we care?

[00:08:34] The headline should be that this is the space for helping customers leverage CoPilot.

[00:08:39] Integration, data management, preparation, CoPilot building, all the parts.

[00:08:43] That said, I also want to highlight the mention of the IT Help Desk.

[00:08:48] Microsoft believes CoPilot can offload some of these tasks.

[00:08:51] I'll be bold. I too believe that artificial intelligence and machine learning will automate significant portions of backend tasks.

[00:09:00] Customer interactions? Maybe. I just wouldn't start there.

[00:09:04] Just know that it is part of the plan, and if anybody can pull it off, it's Microsoft.

[00:09:09] You should be preparing or thinking about this competitive threat at a fundamental level.

[00:09:17] And Microsoft is also taking some things away.

[00:09:20] Microsoft plans to depreciate NT-LAN Manager, or NTLM, in Windows 11, strengthening security measures and introducing AI-powered app controls.

[00:09:31] Other security improvements include LSA protection, virtualization-based security for Windows Hello, that smart app control with AI model, trusted signing for app signing, Windows 32 app isolation, limiting admin privileges, VBS enclaves, and Windows Protected Print Mode.

[00:09:49] Microsoft will no longer trust TLS server authentication certificates with RSA keys less than 2048 bits and introduces a Zero Trust Domain Name System, or ZT-DNS.

[00:10:03] Microsoft announced that it will depreciate VBScript in the second half of this year, making it an on-demand feature until it's completely removed.

[00:10:13] This decision is due to the availability of more powerful scripting languages like JavaScript and PowerShell, which are better suited for modern web development and automation tasks.

[00:10:23] The depreciation plan consists of three phases, with VBScript being retired and eliminated from future versions of Windows in the final phase.

[00:10:33] And also going away? Attendance. Microsoft's Build 2024 conference has seen a decline in in-person attendance compared to pre-pandemic levels, raising questions about the company's commitment to developers.

[00:10:46] The event's focus has shifted toward AI and Copilot, leaving some developers disinterested.

[00:10:53] So why do we care? These changes follow criticisms of Microsoft's security practices and look, prioritize security and hold senior leadership accountable. Time will tell.

[00:11:03] However, I would expect there will be customer impacts to be aware of by removing these technologies. Again, it's an opportunity that is better than an oncoming surprise.

[00:11:15] So reactions to all this?

[00:11:18] Semaphore noted that Microsoft is facing challenges in its renewed PC battle against Apple.

[00:11:24] While Microsoft is touting its new Copilot Plus PCs with better hardware and AI capabilities, and struggles to reverse Apple's market share dominance, perception as a cooler company.

[00:11:35] Microsoft aims to attract Mac users with its Surface and Surface Pro laptops that run AI models locally on devices.

[00:11:42] However, concerns about privacy and the difficulty of switching ecosystems might hinder the adoption of Microsoft's AI-powered PCs.

[00:11:50] And that new Windows 11 recall feature has raised concerns about privacy risks and potential data theft.

[00:11:57] The feature takes screenshots of active Windows every few seconds and records user activity for up to three months.

[00:12:04] While Microsoft assures that the data is encrypted and stored locally, cybersecurity experts and users remain skeptical.

[00:12:11] The feature's lack of content moderation and the potential for data exposure in case of device compromise are among the primary concerns.

[00:12:21] The announcement has drawn criticism from the security and data protection community,

[00:12:25] and the UK's Information Commissioner's Office is considering a probe into the feature.

[00:12:31] Why do we care?

[00:12:34] There are a lot of privacy concerns here for sure.

[00:12:38] As one commenter I noted offered, future data security breaches will be absolutely bananas.

[00:12:46] It's time to ask good questions, learn about the technology, and build your practice.

[00:12:51] The good news? You do have time.

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