NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 17 – About 100 new services and updates have been introduced by Microsoft to boost artificial intelligence (AI) in the areas of productivity and security offerings.
These were made at Microsoft Ignite 2023, the company’s annual conference for developers and IT professionals.
It showcases advances being developed to help customers, partners, and developers achieve the total value of Microsoft’s technology and reshape the way work is done.
Estimates show that AI could expand Africa’s economy by up to 50 percent of the current GDP by 2030 if the continent could capture just 10 percent of the global AI market.
Currently, forward-thinking organizations and enterprising startups are using AI to address some of the day-to-day challenges facing society.
From improving access to quality legal services in South Africa to extending the reach of healthcare professionals in low-resourced communities in Nigeria, firms are now starting to see the importance of AI.
Eight months ago, Microsoft introduced Copilot for Microsoft 365 to reduce digital debt and increase productivity so people can focus on the work that is uniquely human.
Already, the company’s research, a combination of surveys and experiments, demonstrates significant productivity gains.
“70 percent of Copilot users said they were more productive, and 68 percent said it improved the quality of their work; 68 percent say it helped jumpstart the creative process,” Microsoft said.
“Overall, users were 29 percent faster at specific tasks (searching, writing, and summarizing).”
The tech firm has also partnered with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT capabilities into tools used to search, collaborate, work, and learn.
“As we accelerate further into AI, Microsoft is rethinking cloud infrastructure to ensure optimisation across every layer of the hardware and software stack,” it stated.
“At Ignite we are announcing new innovations across our datacentre fleet, including the latest AI optimised silicon from our industry partners and two new Microsoft-designed chips.”
