Mircosoft's Vision for AI: A Partner in Productivity

The capability of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has grown exponentially over the past year, and Microsoft has been at the forefront of developing this new frontier in technology. It has created innovative solutions to accelerate AI transformation and get more work done better. Microsoft’s Chief Technology Officer in India and South Asia, Dr. Rohini Srivathsa shared that they see this new technology as a way to empower people and organisations "in ways that were not possible before."

She did this during an interview with?Ceylon Today, discussing Microsoft’s vision for AI as a companion rather than competition, a co-pilot, so to speak. “It’s that enabler, helping our customers, partners, organisations, and countries transform and leverage this technology for economic growth, better customer experiences, greater efficiencies, greater collaborations, and really innovate,” she explained.

Dr. Srivathsa shared that Microsoft Copilot is central to empowering people to use AI more effectively. Unlike before, when we needed to speak the computer’s language, with AI and Copilot, the machine can now understand us, making it an intelligent companion to help in everyday work and life, to be more creative and productive.”?

Enhancing enterprises

Many of the business world seem to share Microsoft’s vision for AI. Revealing some of the tech giant’s statistics, Dr. Srivathsa noted, “More than 85 per cent of Fortune 500 companies use Microsoft AI, and 70 per cent are using Copilot of Microsoft 365. From a work perspective, generative AI has doubled in the last six months, and 75% of global knowledge workers use it.”

She illustrated four pillars of how technology is creating real-life benefits: Delivering better customer experiences that are more personalised and contextualised, creating more collaborative workplaces that enable creativity to help employees do their best work regardless of their technical knowledge and experience, streamlining processes and workflows, and making space for innovations.

AI for everyone

The ability to scale the technology to suit the needs of people and organisations is essential, however, and Dr. Srivathsa stressed that Microsoft’s AI tools could benefit everyone at every scale and size. “We talk about AI being democratised and accessible to all points, from large conglomerates to small-to-medium scale enterprises, non-profits, and even academic institutions.”

She drew examples from the success stories of Sri Lankan organisations using Microsoft AI. These include a stockbroking firm using Azure OpenAI to create an AI tool, a StockGPT to enhance market research, an apparel manufacturer using Microsoft Copilot for data analysis and operational decision-making, and even a large local conglomerate using Microsoft Copilot for Security to support the organisation’s security professionals in end-to-end scenarios, from gathering intelligence to responding to incidents, among others across multiple industries and sectors.

“We see AI as an enabler that levels the playing field for enterprises of every size. And this isn’t just AI adoption,” she added. “It also means ensuring your data is secure, that your customers are being served, and that you can protect your brand.”

AI in security

AI is only as good as the data it works with, and to ensure data security, Microsoft has introduced what it calls the Secure Future Initiative. “What this does is take security as a need, not an option, thinking of security by default and design. What that means is today, when we ship products, all security controls are turned on by default, and our engineering teams have a clear mandate from our CEO; if you have to make a trade-off between a new functionality or a feature versus security, pick security.”

Microsoft also expressed confidence in its ability to use AI and parse vast quantities of data and trillions of digital signals to detect threats and vulnerabilities before malicious parties discover them. “Our ability to analyse, understand and even detect these ‘zero-day’ attacks is unprecedented because of AI,” she shared.

Microsoft has also infused Copilot’s functionality so that security professionals can become more adept at responding to security incidents. Dr. Srivathsa explained that this Security Copilot has allowed security professionals, especially those new to the field, to be more effective in handling incidents.

Accessible for all

Ceylon Today inquired about how accessible Copilot is for users, whether they’re employees who aren’t from the IT sector and might not be as exposed to working with AI or even small-to-medium-scale businesses embracing digital transformation and using Copilot for the first time in their workflow.

Dr. Srivathsa replied that Copilot is built to be context-sensitive, see the big picture and identify organisational structures. It uses that knowledge when receiving instructions, making the entire process intuitive for the user. She added that Copilot can also provide examples and suggestions for prompts, giving users a starting point for creating them.

On top of this, Microsoft also has a Copilot Prompt Library, which is accessible to all and is actively updated for users to explore and learn new ways to give instructions to Copilot to achieve the desired result. Organisations can also develop internal prompt libraries and share them within their organisation.

“Copilot itself is also a great guide for someone learning to use digital tools and get work done much faster. We also focus on learning as we go with our products, engaging with customers and partners, and receiving their feedback to ensure that what we create empowers every individual.”

An AI-enabled Sri Lanka

Dr. Srivathsa highlighted that Microsoft’s presence in the country for the past two decades is evidence of their commitment to being a part of the country’s digital transformation journey as a partner on the road to becoming an AI-empowered nation and expressed willingness to explore more collaborations, bringing this new technology to more people, transforming lives, for the better.

“I think AI is perhaps the most transformative technology of our generation. Organisations large and small, as well as people and governments, must embrace this technology and look at it as a way to accelerate their growth journey more inclusively.”