Listening
Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
- flagship / ˈflægˌʃɪp / (n.) – the best or most important product, service, or idea in a company or organization
Example:This smartphone is the company’s flagship model, known for its high quality and latest features.
- avatar / ˈæv əˌtɑr / (n.) – an image or character that represents a person in a computer game or on the internet
Example:The game asks the players to create their own avatar before they can start to play.
- embody / ɪmˈbɒ di / (v.) – to represent an idea or a quality in a clear and visible way
Example:The museum’s AI tour guide was designed to embody the voice and personality of a human tour guide.
- ramp up / ræmp ʌp / (phrasal v.) – to increase activity, level, volume, amount, or rate
Example:As online shopping ramps up, more workers are needed in storage facilities and shipping companies.
- wariness / ˈwɛər i nɪs / (n.) – a feeling of caution or not trusting something completely
Example:His business partners expressed wariness about investing a large amount in a new project they knew little about.
Article
Read the text below.
Fifty years after the founding of Microsoft, the CEO of its artificial intelligence division has a big task: develop a new product line that is as integral to daily life as the software giant’s past innovations.
“We’re really trying to land this idea that everybody is going to have their own personalized AI companion,” said Mustafa Suleyman in an interview with The Associated Press. “It will, over time, have its own name, its own style. It will adapt to you. It may also have its own visual appearance and expressions.”
Suleyman laid out that vision on Microsoft’s 50th anniversary in April.
The company’s flagship product of this AI era, Copilot, already combines a chatbot with Microsoft’s suite of workaday tools, from Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations to the Windows operating system that defines how most computers work. But Suleyman is striving for something that sounds a little more like science fiction—a technology that can form a “lasting, meaningful relationship” with its users.
“One that knows your name, gets to know you, has a memory of everything that you’ve shared with it and talked about and really comes to kind of live life alongside you,” he said. “It’s far more than just a piece of software or a tool. It is unlike anything we’ve really ever created.”
Some of those updates—such as new “visual memory” capabilities that keep track of a user’s digital activity, if they want that—rolled out on mobile apps last month. Other features are still in development, such as an animated avatar—a talking peacock in Suleyman’s demo—that would embody a person’s AI companion.
“It’s a super competitive market, but this is absolutely foundational to us,” Suleyman said. “Copilot in the workplace, Copilot at home is the future of the company. On the consumer side, we are going to be committed to this for many decades to come. We really think it’s the major platform shift that we have to win.”
Even as competition ramps up, so does wariness from Wall Street and big business customers about whether these AI products are worth their huge costs in computing power and energy.
This article was provided by The Associated Press.
Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
- Microsoft’s vision for a personalized AI includes an assistant or companion that adapts to your personality, remembers your past, and even develops its own visual appearance or expression. Would you want an AI assistant/companion that remembers everything about you? Why or why not? What do you find most exciting about a personalized AI companion, and what concerns do you have about it? Discuss.
- Do you think it’s possible to form an emotional bond with an AI assistant? Can it be your friend, or is it just a tool? Why do you say so? Discuss.
Discussion B
- AI requires large amounts of energy and computing power, raising concerns from Wall Street and big businesses. Given the wariness from Wall Street and big businesses about the high costs of AI, do you think the public should also be concerned? Why or why not? Discuss.
- Do you think the competition to be first in AI development is causing companies to ignore the high energy and financial costs? Should they slow down to be more careful? Why or why not? Discuss.
