Microsoft AI CEO says Copilot will evolve into a companion and 'real friend' despite backlash from concerned users: "It tries to be my friend when...

[Windows Central]

Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman discussed the future of Copilot and AI agents, indicating Copilot will evolve into an AI companion. "People are going to have a real friend that gets to know you over time, that learns from you, that is there in your corner as your support," added the CEO.

Microsoft AI CEO says Copilot will evolve into a companion and 'real friend' despite backlash from concerned users: "It tries to be my friend when... : Read more

 

[Cmndr_Bytes]

Literally just got to start using the enterprise version for my company so I can help support it. So far I really like it and I can see it becoming my friend. I like an assistant with personality, fun to use and is helpful. If I had an assistant in real life I would want the same. Not some robotic, stiff person.

 

[manicottiK]

When I ask anyone/anything a fact-based question, I expect an answer that isn't embellished or followed by a question that solicits information from me.

Here's a great example: I asked "What's the tallest tree in America?"

1. Bing: "Hyperperion, according to two sources." It then showed the appropriate paragraphs from Wikipedia and from the NY Times.
2. Google: Listed the same Wikipedia article. However, before that, it showed a Gemini response that was wrong: "The tallest tree in the United States is the Doerner Fir, which is 327 feet tall and located in Redwood National Park in Oregon. It's the second tallest tree in the country and the world's tallest Douglas fir. " A second Gemini paragraph listed the correct tree as the tallest in the world.
3. New Copilot: "The tallest tree in America is Hyperion, a coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) located in Redwood National Park, California. Hyperion stands at an impressive height of 379 feet (115.5 meters)1. Its exact location is kept secret to protect it from potential damage by visitors1.
   Have you ever visited any of the redwood forests? "
4. Gemini (not from Google search): "The tallest tree in the world, and therefore also the tallest tree in America, is Hyperion. It's a coastal redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) located in Redwood National Park, California. As of 2019, it stands at a towering 380.8 feet tall! Hyperion is not only the tallest tree in the world, but it's also one of the oldest, estimated to be between 600 and 800 years old."
5. ChatGPT: "The tallest tree in America is a coast redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum) named Hyperion. It was discovered in 2006 in a secret location in California's Redwood National Park and stands at about 379.7 feet (115.7 meters) tall. This makes it not only the tallest tree in the U.S. but also the tallest known living tree in the world!"

The responses are all correct (except the Gemini summary stuffed info the Google search response), but Copilot wants to engage me in chat. If I answer yes, it wants to know which redwoods I've seen. It's like Copilot has scraped all the content it could get from the web and has now decided to start scraping its users. Ick.

 

[bazanime]

I don't mind the friendship nature but I also want a useful friend.
We can wax lyrical about mac and cheese with steak, but bring up a website where I can buy that nice skillet.
We can have the best of both features.

 

[DaveDansey]

I agree with manicottiK - it's really annoying how Copilot keeps putting questions at the end of it's answers.

I asked the same tree question, then asked why it wanted to know if I've visited any. It stated it was "Just curious!". I told it it can't possibly be curious as it's a computer and not sentient. It agreed, but stated it helps provide engaging conversation, then asked what my hobbies are.

I told it to just answer my questions and stop asking me questions as it's very annoying. It apologised and told me it would just answer any question I have.

I asked it how many whale species exist. It gave me an answer, followed with a question.

Personally I just want a computer to do what I instruct it to, I don't want get into "human like" conversations and waste my time telling it my thoughts and opinions. I don't want a computer to get to know me or "be my friend" in any way shape or form - I just find that weird and creepy!

 

[K Shan]

I just want Copilot Notebook back. That was so useful for coding and getting things done. But I guess getting things done quickly doesn't get the user engagement of a chat bot.