Me at Microsoft Redmond campus – Celebrating 4 years at Microsoft
Today marks my 4-year anniversary at Microsoft. Reflecting on this milestone, I’m filled with gratitude for a year that has been the most turbulent and exhilarating of my career. The integration of AI into our products has been groundbreaking, and the velocity of development has been extraordinary. Here’s a look back at last year’s achievements.
The Year of AI: A Game Changer for Microsoft
AI Integration Across Products: This year, AI has found its way into almost every product, transforming the way we work, interact, and innovate. The collaboration with OpenAI has brought additional excitement and potential to our AI initiatives.
The Rise of Generative AI: Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI focuses on democratizing AI models like GPT and DALL-E. We’ve already integrated GPT into Power BI and are actively developing integrations across products, including Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and Teams. Read more about The Rise of Generative AI here.
Power BI Mastery: My latest book, Teach Yourself VISUALLY Power BI (Amazon), is designed to help users of all levels master this robust data visualization software. It’s part of Microsoft’s commitment to making powerful tools accessible and user-friendly. The book is a testament to our shared mission to empower every person. Learn more about mastering Power BI here.
Looking Forward: Embracing the Future with a Growth Mindset
The people around me have made this journey truly special. From motivating work to a team I love and leadership I respect, the human aspect has been the cornerstone of my Microsoft experience. The future holds exciting challenges, and it’s the wisdom, creativity, and passion of our team that fills me with optimism.
I’m sure the coming years will continue to be fast-paced, filled with innovation and growth. With an extraordinary team by my side, I look forward to embracing the challenges and joys ahead.
Stay Connected: Follow Me for More Insights on Microsoft, AI, and Power BI
The experiences we’ve shared have shaped me, and I’m grateful for every moment. I invite you to join our ongoing conversation about AI, digital transformation, Power BI, and more. Follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn, and let’s continue learning together.
Also, I am truly grateful for the support on the 400-page 📘 Decisively Digital (➡️ Amazon) and the encouragement of each and every one of you, and I want to take a moment to say a heartfelt thank you.
As many of you know, my passions lie in the realms of data, AI, and digital technology. Sharing my insights, experiences, and expertise with this wonderful community has been an absolute pleasure. I am incredibly fortunate to have connected with such an extraordinary group of like-minded individuals who share the same zeal and drive for continuous learning and growth.
One of the most rewarding ways I have connected with our community is through the #datamustread book club. Witnessing the engagement and participation from so many of you in reading the selected books and engaging in insightful conversations on how data and analytics can make a significant impact in the world has been truly amazing.
I eagerly anticipate reading your thoughts and ideas, as well as continuing to engage and connect with this remarkable community. Thank you once more for your unwavering support, and cheers to reaching the next 30,000 followers and beyond!
Following the talk, I was inspired by a conversation to leverage the power of GPT-4 and create an automatically generated summary of the Microsoft Teams transcript. This approach not only streamlines information sharing but also showcases the practical applications of advanced AI technology.
Below, I will share the key insights generated by GPT-4 and also include some captivating images from the event:
Decisively Digital: AI’s Impact on Society
In my talk, I drew inspiration from my book Decisively Digital, which discusses the impact of AI on society. I shared about the innovative projects underway at Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab. In light of GPT-4’s recent launch, I also highlighted our mission to leverage technology to benefit humanity.
AI’s impact on society is discussed in Decisively Digital: From Creating a Culture to Designing Strategy. John Wiley & Sons. (photo by Gerhard Müller)
By harnessing Generative AI, we can stimulate the creation of innovative ideas and accelerate the pace of advancement. This cutting-edge technology is already transforming industries by streamlining drug development, expediting material design, and inspiring novel hypotheses. AI’s ability to identify patterns in vast datasets empowers humans to uncover insights that might have gone unnoticed.
Generative AI can Augment our Thinking
For instance, researchers have employed machine learning to predict chemical combinations with the potential to improve car batteries, ultimately identifying promising candidates for real-world testing. AI can efficiently sift through and analyze extensive information from diverse sources, filtering, grouping, and prioritizing relevant data. It can also generate knowledge graphs that reveal associations between seemingly unrelated data points, which can be invaluable for drug research, discovering novel therapies, and minimizing side effects.
“Now is the time to explore how Generative AI can augment our thinking and facilitate more meaningful interactions with others.”
Alexander Loth
At the AI for Good Lab, we are currently employing satellite imagery and generative AI models for damage assessment in Ukraine, with similar initiatives taking place in Turkey and Syria for earthquake relief. In the United States, our focus is on healthcare, specifically addressing discrepancies and imbalances through AI-driven analysis.
Our commitment to diversity and inclusion centers on fostering digital equality by expanding broadband access, facilitating high-speed internet availability, and promoting digital skills development. Additionally, we are dedicated to reducing carbon footprints and preserving biodiversity. For example, we collaborate with the NOAH organization to identify whales using AI technology and have developed an election propaganda index to expose the influence of fake news. Promising initial experiments using GPT-4 showcase its potential for fake news detection.
“We live in a rapidly changing world, facing big challenges.” (photo by Gerhard Müller)
ChatGPT will be Empowered to Perform Real-time Website Crawling
While ChatGPT currently cannot crawl websites directly, it is built upon a training set of crawled data up to September 2021. In the near future, the integration of plugins will empower ChatGPT to perform real-time website crawling, enhancing its ability to deliver relevant, up-to-date information, and sophisticated mathematics. This same training set serves as the foundation for the GPT-4 model.
GPT-4 demonstrates remarkable reasoning capabilities, while Bing Chat offers valuable references for verifying news stories. AI encompasses various machine learning algorithms, including computer vision, statistical classifications, and even software that can generate source code. A notable example is the Codex model, a derivative of GPT-3, which excels at efficiently generating source code.
Microsoft has a long-standing interest in AI and is dedicated to making it accessible to a wider audience. The company’s partnership with OpenAI primarily focuses on the democratization of AI models, such as GPT and DALL-E. We have already integrated GPT-3 into Power BI and are actively developing integrations for Copilot across various products, such as Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and Teams. Microsoft Graph is a versatile tool for accessing XML-based objects in documents and generating results using GPT algorithms.
Hardware, particularly GPUs, has played a pivotal role in the development of GPT-3. For those interested in experimenting with Generative AI on a very technical level, I recommend Stable Diffusion, which is developed by LMU Munich. GPT-3’s emergence created a buzz, quickly amassing a vast user base and surpassing the growth of services like Uber and TikTok. Sustainability remains a crucial concern, and Microsoft is striving to achieve a CO2-positive status.
Generative AI Models have garnered Criticism due to their Dual-use Nature
Despite its potential, Generative AI models such as GPT-3 have also garnered criticism due to their dual-use nature and potential negative societal repercussions. Some concerns include the possibility of automated hacking, photo manipulation, and the spread of fake news. To ensure responsible AI development, numerous efforts are being undertaken to minimize reported biases in the GPT models. By actively working on refining algorithms and incorporating feedback from users and experts, developers can mitigate potential risks and promote a more ethical and inclusive AI ecosystem.
Moving forward, it is essential to maintain open dialogue and collaboration between AI developers, researchers, policymakers, and users. This collaborative approach will enable us to strike a balance between harnessing the immense potential of AI technologies like GPT and ensuring the protection of society from unintended negative consequences.
Microsoft‘s responsible AI principles: fairness, reliability & safety, privacy & security, and inclusiveness, underpinned by transparency and accountability. (photo by Gerhard Müller)
GPT-3.5 closely mimics human cognition. However, GPT-4 transcends its forerunner with its remarkable reasoning capabilities and contextual understanding. GPT models leverage tokens to establish and maintain the context of the text, ensuring coherent and relevant output. The GPT-4-32K model boasts an impressive capacity to handle 32,000 tokens, allowing it to process extensive amounts of text efficiently. To preserve the context and ensure the continuity of the generated text, GPT-4 employs various strategies that adapt to different tasks and content types.
GPT-4 Features a Robust Foundation in Common Sense Reasoning
One of GPT-4’s defining features is its robust foundation in common sense reasoning. This attribute significantly contributes to its heightened intelligence, enabling the AI model to generate output that is not only coherent but also demonstrates a deep understanding of the subject matter. As GPT-4 continues to evolve and refine its capabilities, it promises to revolutionize the field of artificial intelligence, expanding the horizons of what AI models can achieve and paving the way for future breakthroughs in the realm of generative AI.
Results of the live Twitter survey: 47.8% predict the emergence of AGI is possible within the next 5 years (photo by Bernd Vellguth)
In the near future, advanced tools like ChatGPT will elucidate intricate relationships without requiring us to sift through countless websites and articles, further amplifying the transformative impact of Generative AI.
I appreciate the opportunity to share my insights at the German Chapter of the ACM.
Did you enjoy this GPT-generated Summary of my Talk?
Leveraging GPT-4 to generate a summary of my talk was an exciting experiment, and I have to admit, the results are impressive. GPT was able to provide a brief overview of the key takeaways from my talk.
Now, I would love to hear about your experiences with GPT. What are your experiences with GPT so far? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section of this Twitter thread or this LinkedIn post:
What a great start to the new year: I am absolutely thrilled and grateful that my book, Decisively Digital, is the #1 best-selling Computers & Technology Industry book on Amazon!
When I first started writing this book, I had a strong belief in the message that I wanted to share with the world. I wanted to share my insights and experiences on how businesses can harness the power of digital technologies to drive growth and success by interviewing thought leaders from a variety of industries.
I hope that Decisively Digital will continue to inspire and empower readers to embrace the digital age and harness the full potential of technology for their own businesses and organizations. Thank you again for all of your support, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds!
Join the #bookaweekchallenge with 7 days of Decisively Digital
My book Decisively Digital: From Creating a Culture to Designing Strategy (➡️Amazon) is guest at Christina Stathopoulos and her #bookaweekchallenge on LinkedIn. Join Christina as she reflects on her journey through the book with several LinkedIn posts.
Christina’s posts can be found further down this blog along with a variety of interesting comments and opinions. Feel free to join the discussion on LinkedIn! You also have the chance to participate in our raffle and win one of three copies of Decisively Digital! Good luck!
No one can argue that today’s business landscape is DIGITAL, you’ve got to stay ahead of the curve or you’ll quickly fall behind. It’s Digital or… Disappear.
Jam-packed with insights, this book includes 24 interviews with leaders of the digital revolution covering:
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