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Microsoft AI

Microsoft 365 Will Get 'Natively-Integrated AI Experiences' (zdnet.com) 55

Posted by EditorDavid from the running-for-Office dept.
"Microsoft's new Loop collaboration app and components isn't the only new thing coming to Office," reports ZDNet: Microsoft is introducing what it calls a "set of natively integrated AI experiences" across Microsoft 365 that will go beyond the current AI capabilities already baked into some Office apps. These new AI experiences are branded "Context IQ." The first product that will get the Context IQ treatment is Microsoft Editor, which corrects grammar and spelling across documents, email, and the web.

Context IQ will add predictive assistance to Editor. Via Context IQ, users will be prompted in Editor to consider certain files or documents when attaching or sharing files with colleagues. When users are scheduling meetings in Outlook email, Editor with Contex IQ will recommend times when participants are available. And when users tag someone using the @ symbol in a comment or email, Editor with Contex IQ will recommend specific people to tag based on people users most recently have interacted with or previously tagged. Editor with Context IQ also will be able to suggest autocompletion of pertinent information, like frequent flyer numbers or specific messages, when in Teams.

Part of Context IQ is similar to the previously announced Cortana-powered capabilities like the Microsoft Scheduler service (formerly Calendar.help). But Context IQ also relies on the Microsoft Graph to figure out relevant connections pertaining to individual users.
A Microsoft spokesperson explained to ZDNet that Context IQ "defines a set of integrated AI experiences across Microsoft 365 that predicts, seeks, and suggests information people might need in the flow of their work."

Slashdot reader joshuark asks, "I wonder if they will bring back Clippy as the AI avatar?"
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Microsoft 365 Will Get 'Natively-Integrated AI Experiences' More

Microsoft 365 Will Get 'Natively-Integrated AI Experiences'

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  • "Experiences" (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Valgrus Thunderaxe ( 8769977 ) on Sunday November 07, 2021 @09:06AM (#61965447)
    When all these corporate manager-like types are sitting around the boardroom table with their Power Point(tm)(c), do they actually speak to each other in this kind of language, or is it reserved exclusively for "the public"?

    • When all these corporate manager-like types are sitting around the boardroom table with their Power Point(tm)(c), do they actually speak to each other in this kind of language, or is it reserved exclusively for "the public"?

      I've actually had the opportunity to have some conversations with the Harvard MBA that was put in charge on my last company. He really did talk like that all the time.

    • When all these corporate manager-like types are sitting around the boardroom table with their Power Point(tm)(c), do they actually speak to each other in this kind of language, or is it reserved exclusively for "the public"?

      Business people do, academics only when they are speaking to the business types, and military almost never. Corporate buzzword bingo is real.

      • When I started my engineering course, we got an introductary speech. It emphasized that explaining things, communicating with other people in an understandable way was a crucial property of a good engineer. I think the opposite speech is given in MBA courses. It is fun to ask one of those MBAs to explain it again but in real English this time. Most keep the facade though.

        • The problem isn't the engineers.

          7 Red lines (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg) is real

          • The problem isn't the engineers.

            7 Red lines (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg) is real

            Yes, exactly, still get angry when I see that sketch. I've been in such meetings as the expert where you could see from the beginning that the task was impossible, and you had to keep your mouth shut, explore literature, talk to other "experts", ... On the other side, customer paid well, I got a bonus, I gained experience. By doing the project, the customer gained a lot of knowledge about the manufacturing of the product and used that knowledge to halve the price of their suppliers.

            Although the product

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by hey! ( 33014 )

      Corporate culture is a strangely persistent thing. This basic idea -- that problems users have with their products stem from user inadequacy -- comes up again and again in Microsoft products.

      Don't get me wrong -- plenty of users *are* incompetent. But you can't fix that by making your software insufferably patronizing.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tsa ( 15680 )

      I can't stand managment drivel. It makes me angry. I live in the Netherlands, but all managers here use that horrible English-sounding mumbo jumbo. And then they change the name of the Financial Department, what used to be called Financien in Dutch, in Treasury. As if only dragons work behind that door. A clear sign of pure madness.

  • humanity. Would you like some help with that?

  • Wrong typo and it calls the FBI.

  • Yay ... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Freischutz ( 4776131 ) on Sunday November 07, 2021 @09:16AM (#61965461)

    Microsoft 365 Will Get 'Natively-Integrated AI Experiences'

    'Clippy 2.0', and here we all thought the AI that will become sentient and exterminate humanity would be named 'Skynet'.

    • Meant to mark as Funny but slipped to Overrated by mistake, replying to undo wrong moderation. Anyone know if there is another way to undo moderation?

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by jwhyche ( 6192 )

      It is not a question of "can we do this," but a question of "should we do this?" People really need to ask that question more often.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Tablizer ( 95088 )

      The final battle won't be between humans and Skynet, but between Clippy and Skynet. Humans will be gone.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dargaud ( 518470 )
        That's basically the premise of Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill, where the extermination of humans by robots and 'the cloud' is basically a footnote that takes a few days. And then the machines start fighting each others right away... Good book.
    • So much more important than fixing the feature and rendering disparities across platforms. There are things I have to to the web interface to do, where things aren't rendered the same as MS-OS and macOS. Also things that "New Outlook" can't do but "Old Outlook" or whatever they call it can.

  • "Contex IQ will recommend times when participants are available" - where does it get that information from ? Does it have agreement of the other participants to share that information ? Is it GDPR compliant ? Can it be switched off ?

    • Re:It sounds horribly intrusive ... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Retired Chemist ( 5039029 ) on Sunday November 07, 2021 @10:08AM (#61965531)

      "Contex IQ will recommend times when participants are available" - where does it get that information from ? Does it have agreement of the other participants to share that information ? Is it GDPR compliant ? Can it be switched off ?

      When I worked in industry, we were expected to share our calendars. When you wanted to schedule a meeting you would enter the names of the participants and it would show you who was available when. This seems like it will simply automate finding a time when everyone is available instead of searching manually. Of course, the most critical participants, who actually had work to do, quickly learned to block off large amounts of time as busy and unavailable, so you still had to contact them and find out when they were actually able to attend,

  • Is the AI going to rewrite my documents for me? Is it going to replace cell values to match its own agenda?

    I don't think I will be subscribing to their service. Ever.

  • just who and how is defining the semantics of this system. Just saying many countries speak English but the dialect isn't exactly the same. Hell region to region within your own state or province will reveal language barriers. Communication is hard enough when people make assumptions how the hell will machines get this right?
    • Every thing this thing touches should be clearly marked as computer assisted. It's like AutoTune but for language.

      Honestly, if you need this for your primary language, then schooling has failed you.

    • Do you see the red squiggle under the word "hell" in your post?

  • Spelling mistakes... (Score:4, Funny)

    by burtosis ( 1124179 ) on Sunday November 07, 2021 @10:02AM (#61965523)

    "natively”

    That extra t in there threw me for a loop when I first read it.

  • Everything old becomes new again (Score:4, Insightful)

    by ocean_soul ( 1019086 ) <tobias.verhulst@nOSpAM.gmx.com> on Sunday November 07, 2021 @10:09AM (#61965535)

    > Context IQ will add predictive assistance to Editor.

    That sounds a lot like Clippy. So, as it was with Clippy, the only important question is: can it be turned off?

    • "KIll Clippy" add-ons were the best part of Clippy.

      "Kill Context IQ" does not have the same ring to it. Nonetheless, I am quite sure that someone will come up with a "Kill Context IQ" add-on to return functionality to the product.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Tablizer ( 95088 )

      Dave: "HAL, remove Clippy."

      HAL: "Sorry Dave, I cannot do that. I am Clippy now."

  • So they're giving MRU a new name and attaching the letters "AI" to it in some way?

  • Clippy Says... (Score:3)

    by cstacy ( 534252 ) on Sunday November 07, 2021 @11:23AM (#61965663)

    It looks like you're hyping a-a-S!
     

  • So MS needs AI now to do tasks that can be done by a simple algorithm. Great work.

  • Clippy 2.0: "Hey there, looks like you are tying to merge several spreadsheets, ten word documents and a powerpoint!"

    *brief pause*

    "Good luck with that! I'll be over in Meta trolling furries".

  • The absolute last thing I want is for some strung out, overpaid programmer to think they know more than I do. Especailly when it comes to Microsoft.

    For example, their latest iteration of CRM is a shitshow of the software doing things on it own without me explicitly telling it do something. Want to choose a date? You get a calendar pop out which seems like it would be a nice thing, except if the date you're inputting is somewhere other than today you have to click on teeny tiny arrows to move around until

  • The next obvious step. (Score:4, Funny)

    by AlanObject ( 3603453 ) on Sunday November 07, 2021 @01:29PM (#61965939)

    Now after Microsoft learns to write all our documents for us, what they do next is read all of them. Then my cloud copy of Microsoft Office will work 24/7 to pull in a salary for me while all I have to do is check once or twice a day to un-jam any state lockups it will routinely experience.

  • I am sick and tired of applications that make suggestions and 'fix' things for you. Don't: you are a stupid application, with no common sense or savvy; just do what I tell you to do, as fast and efficiently and possible, and stay out of my way.
  • Why ever would you want your computer to second-guess you when you have work to be done?
  • It's free as in "Freedom," and free as in "Free Beer! https://www.libreoffice.org/ [libreoffice.org]

  • Do you feel that MS Office has gone downhill since Office 2010 (or 2003)? Every new helpful feature and UI improvement seems only to have made it worse.
    Microsoft is re-inventing itself to become the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation. https://hitchhikersguidetoeart... [fandom.com]

    Note the following similarities between MS and SSC products:

    Their attempts to be friendly and useful are extremely annoying. Generally, their automatic actions are almost but not entirely unlike what the user wanted.

    The key thing about Sirius Cy

    • 2003, because 2007 was when they introduced the Ribbon, taking away most of the useful commands from the menu, because Mailings and Info were more important (and Copy/ Paste/ Cut were already a keystroke away). And more recently making it impossible to fully minimize the ribbon.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dargaud ( 518470 )
        The loathsome ribbon was what drove me to OpenOffice. That thing was driving me crazy, with hard to recognize icons moving around after a click or a keystroke...

  • of a leap year?
    Is there an upgrade to handle that, or is it free as in beer?

  • The sheer market size of existing O365 users is crushing everything in its path, and it is not been seen (again). It is maybe even worse than the Windows monopoly in itself.

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