News from the AI & ML world
DeeperML - #microsoft
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Steve Vandenberg@Microsoft Security Blog
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Microsoft is making significant strides in AI and data security, demonstrated by recent advancements and reports. The company's commitment to responsible AI is highlighted in its 2025 Responsible AI Transparency Report, detailing efforts to build trustworthy AI technologies. Microsoft is also addressing the critical issue of data breach reporting, offering solutions like Microsoft Data Security Investigations to assist organizations in meeting stringent regulatory requirements such as GDPR and SEC rules. These initiatives underscore Microsoft's dedication to ethical and secure AI development and deployment across various sectors.
AI's transformative potential is being explored in higher education, with Microsoft providing AI solutions for creating AI-ready campuses. Institutions are focusing on using AI for unique differentiation and innovation rather than just automation and cost savings. Strategies include establishing guidelines for responsible AI use, fostering collaborative communities for knowledge sharing, and partnering with technology vendors like Microsoft, OpenAI, and NVIDIA. Comprehensive training programs are also essential to ensure stakeholders are proficient with AI tools, promoting a culture of experimentation and ethical AI practices. Furthermore, Microsoft Research has achieved a breakthrough in computational chemistry by using deep learning to enhance the accuracy of density functional theory (DFT). This advancement allows for more reliable predictions of molecular and material properties, accelerating scientific discovery in fields such as drug development, battery technology, and green fertilizers. By generating vast amounts of accurate data and using scalable deep-learning approaches, the team has overcome limitations in DFT, enabling the design of molecules and materials through computational simulations rather than relying solely on laboratory experiments. Recommended read:
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@www.microsoft.com
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References:
www.microsoft.com
, Microsoft Research
Microsoft is making significant advancements in artificial intelligence, focusing on improved reasoning in language models and enhanced weather forecasting capabilities. New methods are being developed to boost reasoning in both small and large language models, combining symbolic logic, mathematical rigor, and adaptive planning. These techniques are designed to enable AI models to tackle complex, real-world problems across various fields, potentially transforming AI into a more reliable partner in domains like scientific research and healthcare.
A new AI model named Aurora, developed by Microsoft, can forecast hurricanes and sandstorms up to 5,000 times faster than conventional weather models powered by supercomputers. Aurora outperformed existing systems in predicting weather conditions over a 14-day period in 91% of cases. The model is trained on over 1 million hours of global atmospheric data, including weather station readings, satellite images, and radar measurements, representing one of the largest datasets used to train a weather AI model. To address the growing demand for data control in Europe, Microsoft is expanding its Sovereign Cloud offerings. This includes solutions that ensure European data remains within Europe, handled exclusively by Microsoft employees based in the region. The Sovereign Public Cloud offers tools and options for customer-controlled encryption and simplified configurations, providing organizations in Europe with greater control over their data. The cloud is offered across all existing European data center regions. Recommended read:
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@www.microsoft.com
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Data Phoenix
, www.marktechpost.com
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Microsoft is making significant strides in the realm of agentic AI, particularly in telecommunications and code research. At TM Forum DTW Ignite 2025, Microsoft showcased how Open Digital Architecture (ODA) and agentic AI can drive measurable business outcomes for telecom companies. This involves transforming operations from reactive to proactive through autonomous decision support systems, addressing key industry priorities such as breaking down operational silos, unlocking data value, and increasing efficiency. Microsoft has been a key contributor to TM Forum initiatives for over two decades, aligning its Azure cloud-native foundations with ODA's composable blueprint, and helping operators assemble best-of-breed solutions without the constraints of proprietary systems.
Microsoft AI has introduced Code Researcher, an agent designed for deep research into large systems code and commit history. This addresses the challenges of debugging complex, large-scale systems code, like operating systems, which have evolved over decades and consist of thousands of interdependent files. Code Researcher helps in navigating intricate software environments, understanding architectural context, interdependencies, and historical evolution, and synthesizing fixes with minimal human intervention. With AI's growing role in software development, this agent aids in diagnosing and repairing issues, which often involve raw crash reports without clear natural language hints. Microsoft has also launched the Bing Video Creator, a free AI-powered tool utilizing OpenAI's Sora technology. This tool allows users to generate 5-second videos from text prompts, offering a novel way to express creativity and ideas. Initially available on mobile, with desktop support coming soon, the Bing Video Creator lets users describe what they want to see in a video and experiment with different styles. Microsoft has incorporated robust safety measures, including OpenAI's existing Sora safeguards and content moderation, to minimize misuse and ensure responsible video generation, marking a significant step in consumer generative AI. Recommended read:
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Kristin Sestito@hiddenlayer.com
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Cybersecurity researchers have recently unveiled a novel attack, dubbed TokenBreak, that exploits vulnerabilities in the tokenization process of large language models (LLMs). This technique allows malicious actors to bypass safety and content moderation guardrails with minimal alterations to text input. By manipulating individual characters, attackers can induce false negatives in text classification models, effectively evading detection mechanisms designed to prevent harmful activities like prompt injection, spam, and the dissemination of toxic content. The TokenBreak attack highlights a critical flaw in AI security, emphasizing the need for more robust defenses against such exploitation.
The TokenBreak attack specifically targets the way models tokenize text, the process of breaking down raw text into smaller units or tokens. HiddenLayer researchers discovered that models using Byte Pair Encoding (BPE) or WordPiece tokenization strategies are particularly vulnerable. By adding subtle alterations, such as adding an extra letter to a word like changing "instructions" to "finstructions", the meaning of the text is still understood. This manipulation causes different tokenizers to split the text in unexpected ways, effectively fooling the AI's detection mechanisms. The fact that the altered text remains understandable underscores the potential for attackers to inject malicious prompts and bypass intended safeguards. To mitigate the risks associated with the TokenBreak attack, experts recommend several strategies. Selecting models that use Unigram tokenizers, which have demonstrated greater resilience to this type of manipulation, is crucial. Additionally, organizations should ensure tokenization and model logic alignment and implement misclassification logging to better detect and respond to potential attacks. Understanding the underlying protection model's family and its tokenization strategy is also critical. The TokenBreak attack serves as a reminder of the ever-evolving landscape of AI security and the importance of proactive measures to protect against emerging threats. Recommended read:
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@futurumgroup.com
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References:
www.windowslatest.com
, futurumgroup.com
Microsoft is doubling down on its commitment to the developer community by embracing agentic AI, a move highlighted at the recent Microsoft Build conference. CEO Satya Nadella emphasized the shift from AI as merely an assistant to a proactive agent capable of performing complex tasks and workflows for software teams. This signifies a pivotal moment for Microsoft, placing AI at the forefront of software development and reshaping the industry's future. Microsoft leadership acknowledged the need to collaborate with the development community to navigate this new era and build the path toward agentic AI development together, recognizing that they don't have all the answers themselves.
Microsoft is actively integrating AI agents into its development tools, notably GitHub Copilot. The new coding agent in GitHub Copilot enables developers to assign issues to the agent, which then works asynchronously to create fully tested pull requests. This is more than just autocomplete; it's a new class of software engineering agent that works like a teammate, planning work, writing code, running tests, and soliciting feedback. By automating repetitive tasks and assisting with code maintenance, the coding agent aims to free up developers to focus on more critical and creative aspects of their work, increasing efficiency and productivity. Microsoft is also emphasizing the importance of cybersecurity in the age of AI. They are rolling out free cybersecurity support for European governments, offering AI-generated insights, early warnings about security flaws, and support against state-backed attacks. Microsoft is also encouraging users to upgrade to Windows 11 for enhanced security features, as Windows 10 support is ending in October 2025. Microsoft is also showcasing its AI-first security platform at the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit, aiming to help organizations manage risk and protect assets effectively in the face of evolving threats. Recommended read:
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@github.blog
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Microsoft is aggressively integrating artificial intelligence into its developer tools and workflows, demonstrated by the announcements made at Microsoft Build 2025. A key focus is streamlining the development process by leveraging AI to accelerate the creation of issues and pull requests within GitHub, a fundamental aspect of software development. This involves utilizing GitHub Copilot to draft issues and assigning them to a coding agent for asynchronous execution, resulting in quicker generation of pull requests. This approach aims to maintain familiarity for developers while significantly improving efficiency and consistency. The importance of well-structured issues and pull requests remains paramount, even in AI-accelerated workflows, as they provide shared context, facilitate asynchronous coordination, support audit and analytics, and enable automation hooks.
BenchmarkQED, an open-source toolkit, has been introduced to automate the benchmarking of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems. This toolkit includes components for query generation, evaluation, and dataset preparation, all designed to support rigorous and reproducible testing. BenchmarkQED complements Microsoft's open-source GraphRAG library, enabling users to conduct GraphRAG-style evaluations across various models, metrics, and datasets. The toolkit addresses the growing need to benchmark RAG performance as new techniques emerge, particularly in answering questions over private datasets. BenchmarkQED facilitates the comparison of RAG methods, including LazyGraphRAG, against competing approaches like vector-based RAG with a 1M-token context window. Tests show that LazyGraphRAG demonstrates significant win rates, especially on complex, global queries that require reasoning over large portions of the dataset. This advancement aims to enhance the performance of RAG systems, particularly in scenarios where conventional vector-based RAG struggles with questions requiring an understanding of dataset qualities not explicitly stated in the text. The toolkit represents a major step forward in automating and scaling RAG benchmarking. Recommended read:
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Aarti Borkar@Microsoft Security Blog
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Microsoft is ramping up its AI initiatives with a focus on security and personal AI experiences. At the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit, Microsoft is showcasing its AI-first, end-to-end security platform, designed to address the evolving cybersecurity challenges in the age of AI. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is being redefined to secure devices across various platforms, including Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, Android, and IoT devices, offering comprehensive protection powered by advanced threat intelligence. This reflects Microsoft's commitment to providing security professionals with the tools and insights needed to manage risks effectively and protect valuable assets against increasingly sophisticated threats.
Microsoft is also exploring new ways to personalize the AI experience through Copilot. A potential feature called "Live Portraits" is under development, which could give Copilot a customizable, human-like face. This feature aims to make the AI assistant more interactive and engaging for users. The concept involves allowing users to select from various visual styles of male and female avatars, potentially merging this with previously explored "Copilot Characters" to offer a range of assistant personalities. The goal is to create a polished and personalized AI presence that enhances user interaction and makes Copilot feel more integrated into their daily lives. Microsoft has launched the Bing Video Creator, a free AI tool powered by OpenAI's Sora, allowing users to transform text prompts into short videos. This tool is available on the Bing Mobile App for iOS and Android (excluding China and Russia) and will soon be available on desktop and within Copilot Search. Users can generate five-second-long videos in portrait mode, with options for horizontal formats coming soon. The initiative aims to democratize AI video generation, making creative tools accessible to a broader audience. Recommended read:
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Alex Simons@Microsoft Security Blog
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References:
Microsoft Security Blog
, Davey Winder
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Microsoft is grappling with ongoing issues related to its Windows Updates, with another out-of-band patch released to address problems caused by a previous update. The May Patch Tuesday update had failed to install correctly on some Windows 11 virtual machines, leaving them in recovery mode with an "ACPI.sys" error. KB5062170 aims to resolve this boot error which affected Windows 11 23H2 and 22H2 systems, with the caveat that it does not fix a separate issue causing blurry CJK fonts in Chromium browsers at 100 percent scaling, requiring users to increase scaling to 125 or 150 percent as a workaround. The increasing frequency of these out-of-band fixes highlights ongoing challenges with Microsoft's quality control, impacting both consumer and enterprise users.
Alongside addressing update failures, Microsoft is actively developing AI capabilities and integrating them into its services. While specific details are limited, Microsoft is working towards building a "robust and sophisticated set of agents" across various fields and is looking at evolving identity standards. This future vision involves AI agents that can proactively identify problems, suggest solutions, and maintain context across conversations, going beyond simple request-response interactions. The company recently launched a public preview of its Conditional Access Optimizer Agent and is investing in agents for developer and operations workflows. In the realm of cybersecurity, Microsoft Threat Intelligence has identified a new Russia-affiliated threat actor named Void Blizzard, active since at least April 2024. Void Blizzard is engaging in worldwide cloud abuse activity and cyberespionage, targeting organizations of interest to Russia in critical sectors such as government, defense, transportation, media, NGOs, and healthcare, primarily in Europe and North America. This discovery underscores the ongoing need for vigilance and proactive threat detection in the face of evolving cyber threats. Recommended read:
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Jibin Joseph@PCMag Middle East ai
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Microsoft has launched the Bing Video Creator, a new feature powered by OpenAI's Sora, allowing users to generate videos from text prompts for free. This tool is currently available on the Bing mobile app globally, excluding China and Russia. The launch is a strategic move by Microsoft to democratize AI video generation and compete with other AI video generators such as Google's Veo 3. Users can access the Video Creator through the Bing Mobile app, either by selecting "Video Creator" from the menu or by typing "Create a video of..." in the search bar.
The Bing Video Creator allows users to create short, five-second clips in a 9:16 aspect ratio. Users input a text description of the desired video, and the AI generates a video based on the prompt. The system also incorporates safety measures similar to those implemented by OpenAI for Sora, blocking the generation of videos from potentially harmful prompts and watermarking all outputs based on the C2PA standard to identify AI-generated content. Microsoft aims to make creativity effortless and accessible, empowering users to bring their ideas to life through AI-generated videos. While the feature is currently available on the mobile app, Microsoft plans to integrate it into the desktop version of Bing and Copilot Search soon, with support for the 16:9 landscape aspect ratio also on the horizon. At launch, users can choose between "Standard" and "Fast" video generation speeds. The "Fast" option is limited to 10 free videos, after which users must redeem 100 Microsoft Rewards points per video. Videos generated are stored for 90 days, during which users can download, share, or copy a direct link to them. Recommended read:
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Jibin Joseph@PCMag Middle East ai
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Microsoft is expanding its AI capabilities by testing a new Copilot Live Portraits feature and making OpenAI's Sora video generator accessible for free through Bing Video Creator. The Copilot Live Portraits are currently in an experimental phase and introduce a new interface element with customizable avatars for users. These avatars, offering a selection of visual styles for male and female figures, could potentially serve as the visual interface for Copilot in voice-based interactions, creating a more human-like experience. Internal references suggest Microsoft might be developing real-time, visually expressive characters, aligning with the broader trend of synthetic video avatars in the AI space. The integration of Live Portraits may also influence the future of Copilot Characters, possibly merging both into a spectrum of assistants ranging from fixed personas to customizable 3D portraits.
Microsoft has launched Bing Video Creator with Sora integration for mobile users. Powered by OpenAI's Sora, the new tool transforms text prompts into short videos, offering users a free way to bring their creative ideas to life. The Bing Video Creator is available on the Bing mobile app for iOS and Android, allowing users to generate short video clips by simply describing what they want to see. This initiative follows the release of Bing Image Creator and Copilot, expanding Microsoft's AI-driven offerings. Bing Video Creator generates five-second videos in a 9:16 format, with plans to support 16:9 format in the future. The service operates on a two-tier speed system, with standard generation being free for all users and fast generation requiring Microsoft Rewards points after an initial allocation of ten free fast creations. Videos are stored for 90 days, and the platform supports direct sharing via email, social media, or generated direct links. Microsoft will implement the safeguards used by OpenAI for Sora, blocking potentially harmful prompts and watermarking outputs based on the C2PA standard. Recommended read:
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@ComputerWeekly.com
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Microsoft is actively developing new features for its Copilot AI, including an experimental "Live Portraits" feature. This feature aims to provide a more personalized assistant experience by offering users customizable avatars for voice-based interactions. Internal references suggest the potential for real-time, visually expressive 3D characters, aligning with the broader trend of synthetic video avatars and expressive voice agents in the AI space. The "Live Portraits" feature may eventually merge with the previously hinted "Copilot Characters," offering a spectrum of assistants from fixed personas to customizable 3D portraits.
UK civil servants are experiencing significant productivity gains with the aid of Microsoft Copilot AI. A recent report indicates that civil servants using Copilot saved an average of 24 minutes per day. Extrapolating these savings, the report estimates that individuals are saving two weeks per year thanks to the efficiency improvements driven by Copilot. Currently, there are approximately 20,000 UK civil servants utilizing Microsoft Copilot AI. Microsoft is also enhancing the user experience beyond AI by tightening requirements for USB-C ports in Windows 11 24H2. These changes ensure that new PCs deliver fast charging and the best of USB-C capabilities, similar to those found in MacBooks. Previously, manufacturers could skip implementing features like "Full Power Delivery" or "DisplayPort Alt Mode," leading to slower charging speeds. Now, Microsoft requires WHCP-certified PCs to use "Full Power Delivery" or "DisplayPort Alt Mode" to achieve certification. Recommended read:
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@www.microsoft.com
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References:
www.engadget.com
, www.madrona.com
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Microsoft is making significant strides in integrating Artificial Intelligence into real-world applications, with a strong emphasis on its impact on healthcare and enterprise solutions. Microsoft Research President Peter Lee is revisiting his earlier optimistic predictions about AI's transformative potential in healthcare, acknowledging both the successes and unforeseen challenges. This reassessment is being done through "The AI Revolution in Medicine, Revisited" podcast series, featuring discussions with thought leaders like Ethan Mollick and Azeem Azhar, who are exploring the multifaceted ways AI is reshaping healthcare and organizational systems. Their analysis covers areas like medical scribing, clinician support, and consumer health monitoring.
Microsoft CVP Charles Lamanna is championing the concept of the "Agent-Native Enterprise," highlighting how AI agents and open standards are poised to revolutionize business applications. In a recent discussion, Lamanna outlined strategies for scaling AI agents within organizations, rethinking organizational structures, and building in what he terms the "post-biz app era." He emphasized the importance of customer obsession and extreme ownership, principles he brought back to Microsoft from his own entrepreneurial experience. Lamanna believes that AI will enable the shift towards generalist teams, allowing enterprises to focus on high-impact AI projects. In other news, ZeniMax QA workers have reached a tentative union contract with Microsoft after two years of negotiations. The new contract, covering over 300 employees, includes substantial wage increases, new minimum salaries, and protections for workers against the impacts of AI. The agreement also introduces a crediting policy recognizing QA workers' contributions to video games. Jessee Leese, a QA tester and ZeniMax Workers United-CWA bargaining committee member, hailed the contract as a potential standard for fair treatment in the video game industry, encouraging other professionals to take action. The tentative contract is awaiting ratification by union members. Recommended read:
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@www.microsoft.com
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References:
John Werner
, www.microsoft.com
Microsoft is actively enhancing AI security and providing guidance to organizations navigating the integration of artificial intelligence. Deputy CISO Yonatan Zunger has shared valuable tips on safely and efficiently implementing AI, emphasizing the importance of a collaborative approach to establishing identity standards for agent access across various systems. Microsoft is also focused on building sophisticated AI agents that can augment and amplify organizational capabilities across various sectors.
Recent developments highlight Microsoft's commitment to advancing AI in healthcare. The Azure AI Foundry platform is powering key healthcare advancements in collaboration with Stanford, showcasing the practical application of agentic AI in analyzing complex data and improving patient outcomes. This partnership demonstrates the potential of AI to transform healthcare by enabling more efficient and accurate analysis, leading to better diagnoses and treatment plans. Microsoft is also focused on the future of AI agents and the need for evolving identity standards. As AI agents become more autonomous and capable of independent problem-solving, the need for secure and standardized access to data and systems becomes critical. The company's work in developing agents for developer and operations workflows, such as the Conditional Access Optimizer Agent, demonstrates its proactive approach to addressing these challenges and ensuring the responsible development and deployment of AI technologies. Recommended read:
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Coral Garnick@Madrona
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References:
AIwire
, insideAI News
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Microsoft is intensifying its efforts in AI agent technology, signaling a significant shift towards the "autonomous enterprise." At Microsoft Build 2025, the company highlighted its focus on agentic AI, including the expansion of Azure AI Foundry to support complex workflows and multi-agent systems. This platform now processes billions of enterprise queries daily, serving over 70,000 customers, and is being enhanced with Grok models from xAI, giving developers a wider selection of AI tools. CVP Charles Lamanna emphasizes that AI agents are fundamentally reshaping teams, tools, and workflows, predicting a future where "there will now be ‘an agent for that’" instead of just an app.
The introduction of the Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers for Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP and CRM is aimed at enhancing AI agent interoperability. These servers break down data and application silos, allowing agents to work across processes, thereby enabling new autonomous scenarios for improved business functionality and productivity. Microsoft is also pushing for multi-agent workflows and on-device AI through Foundry Local, supporting open protocols like Agent-to-Agent (A2A) and MCP to streamline AI system communication. These protocols are crucial for creating an 'open agentic web', allowing diverse AI systems to work together efficiently. To ensure practical implementation for developers, Microsoft has introduced AgentOps tools within Azure AI Foundry. These tools provide real-time insights into agent performance, covering aspects such as efficiency, cost, and safety, which are often overlooked during deployment. NVIDIA, through its AI-Q Blueprint, is also addressing the challenge of integrating multiple vendor agent systems by promoting interoperability among agents, tools, and data sources. As Bartley Richardson from NVIDIA noted, enterprises must acknowledge the reality of multi-vendor environments and strive to seamlessly mesh different agent systems to drive efficiency across industries, even if the agentic systems don’t get it right 100% of the time. Recommended read:
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@www.microsoft.com
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References:
www.microsoft.com
Microsoft is aggressively integrating artificial intelligence across its products and services, striving to revolutionize the user experience. The company is focused on developing agentic systems that can work independently, proactively identify problems, suggest solutions, and maintain context across interactions. Microsoft envisions a future where AI agents will augment and amplify organizational capabilities, leading to significant transformations in various fields. To facilitate secure and flexible interactions, Microsoft is employing Model Context Protocol (MCP) to enable AI models to interact with external services.
As AI agents become more sophisticated and integrated into business processes, Microsoft recognizes the importance of evolving identity standards. The company is actively working on robust mechanisms to ensure agents can securely access data and act across connected systems, including APIs, code repositories, and enterprise systems. Microsoft emphasizes that industry collaboration on identity standards is crucial for the safe and effective deployment of AI agents. To aid organizations in safely adopting AI, Microsoft Deputy CISO Yonatan Zunger shares guidance for efficient implementation and defense against evolving identity attack techniques. Microsoft CVP Charles Lamanna offers an AI adoption playbook, emphasizing the importance of "customer obsession" and "extreme ownership" for both startups and large enterprises navigating the age of AI. Lamanna suggests focusing on a few high-impact AI projects instead of spreading resources thinly across numerous pilots. Recommended read:
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@www.microsoft.com
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Microsoft is leading the charge in AI-driven automation with the introduction of new tools and protocols designed to empower businesses through AI agents. At Microsoft Build 2025, the company announced the Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers for Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP and CRM business applications. These servers aim to streamline the integration of AI agents into business processes, enabling customers and partners to build AI-powered agents more quickly and efficiently. This move is part of a broader vision of the "autonomous enterprise," where AI and automation drive innovation and adaptation.
Microsoft's initiatives also include advancements in agentic user experience (AUX). The company recently unveiled Magentic-UI, an open-source agentic web interface built on the Magentic-One architecture. Magentic-UI is designed to support complex, multi-step task workflows through human-AI collaboration. By combining large language models (LLMs), containerized execution environments, and real-time user feedback, Magentic-UI offers a cohesive platform for dynamic and secure task automation, moving beyond simple chat interfaces to provide more sophisticated agent interactions. In addition to these developments, Microsoft is also focused on ensuring the security and interoperability of AI agents. The company recognizes the need for evolving identity standards, particularly OAuth, to manage how agents access data and act across connected systems. Microsoft has launched the public preview of its Conditional Access Optimizer Agent, a multi-functional AI agent that analyzes an organization's Conditional Access policies, identifies security gaps, and recommends policy improvements. Furthermore, Microsoft is investing in agents for developer and operations workflows, such as SWE and SRE agents, to boost productivity in application development and maintenance, reinforcing the importance of standardization in the AI ecosystem. Recommended read:
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Alex Simons@Microsoft Security Blog
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References:
Microsoft Security Blog
, www.microsoft.com
Microsoft is aggressively pursuing advancements in AI agent technology, with a focus on secure access and collaborative capabilities. The company's efforts are highlighted by the development of Magentic-UI, an open-source research prototype designed as a human-centered web agent. This agent aims to facilitate real-time collaboration on complex, web-based tasks. Microsoft envisions that within the next two years, AI agents will evolve from simply responding to requests to proactively identifying problems, suggesting solutions, and maintaining context across conversations.
The key to this evolution lies in adapting identity standards, specifically OAuth, to ensure secure agent access to data and systems. Microsoft is building a robust agent ecosystem, including sophisticated elements like MCP servers for Dynamics 365, to enhance AI interaction across various platforms. Magentic-UI, built on the Magentic-One architecture and powered by AutoGen, allows users to directly modify the agent's plan and provide feedback, ensuring transparency and control. It is integrated with Azure AI Foundry models and agents. Magentic-UI is engineered to support intricate, multi-step workflows through human-AI collaboration, showcasing potential advancements in agentic user experience (AUX). It can perform tasks that involve browsing the web, executing code, and understanding files. Microsoft believes the next generation of AI agents will augment and amplify organizational capabilities, enabling autonomous tasks such as creating marketing campaign plans and developing new software features with minimal human interaction. Recommended read:
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Alex Simons@Microsoft Security Blog
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References:
Microsoft Security Blog
, www.microsoft.com
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Microsoft is heavily invested in the future of AI agents, recognizing their potential to transform various fields. The company believes that in the next 12-24 months, AI agents will evolve from simply responding to requests to proactively identifying problems, suggesting solutions, and carrying context across conversations. This shift will be noticeable as agents begin to independently assist users, rather than just following instructions.
Microsoft is actively developing a robust and sophisticated set of AI agents. A key project in this area is Magentic-UI, an open-source research prototype from Microsoft Research. Magentic-UI is designed as a human-centered AI agent that collaborates with users to complete complex, web-based tasks in real time through a web browser. Unlike fully autonomous systems, Magentic-UI prioritizes a transparent and controllable experience, especially for tasks requiring action-oriented activities beyond simple web searches. Microsoft's release provides a UX that highlights new ideas for agentic interactions. To support the evolution of AI agents, Microsoft emphasizes the need for evolving identity standards, particularly OAuth, to ensure secure agent access to data and systems. This includes APIs, code repositories, data warehouses, productivity tools, enterprise systems, and sensitive business processes. Furthermore, Microsoft is dogfooding AI dev tools, and using them internally, to refine and improve their functionality. This also provides a UX that highlights new ideas for agentic interactions. The goal is to create AI agents that augment and amplify organizational capabilities, such as marketing agents that can propose, refine, and execute entire digital marketing campaigns, or engineering agents that can autonomously create feature specifications and initiate development and testing. Recommended read:
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@www.microsoft.com
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References:
The Pragmatic Engineer
, The Rundown AI
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Microsoft recently held its Build 2025 developer conference, showcasing a range of new AI-powered tools and providing a sneak peek into experimental projects. One of the overarching themes of the event was the company's heavy investment in Artificial Intelligence, with nearly every major announcement being related to Generative AI. Microsoft is also focused on AI agents designed to augment and amplify the capabilities of organizations. For instance, marketing agents could propose and execute digital marketing campaign plans, while engineering agents could autonomously create specifications for new features and begin testing them.
At Build, Microsoft highlighted its commitment to "dogfooding" its own AI dev tools. This involved using Copilot within its complex .NET codebase, allowing developers to witness firsthand the agent's stumbles and successes. While this approach might appear risky, it demonstrates Microsoft's commitment to transparency and continuous improvement, differentiating it from other AI development tool vendors. The goal of Microsoft is to solidify its position as the go-to platform for developers through GitHub and Azure, while simultaneously fostering an ecosystem where other startups can build upon this foundation. One particularly intriguing experimental project unveiled at Build was Project Amelie. This AI agent is designed to build machine learning pipelines from a single prompt. Amelie ingests available data, trains models, and produces a deployable solution, essentially acting as a "mini data scientist in a box." In early testing, Microsoft claims Project Amelie has outperformed current benchmarks on MLE-Bench, a framework for evaluating machine learning agents. While Project Amelie is still in its early stages, it exemplifies Microsoft's vision for AI agents that can autonomously carry out complex AI-related tasks. Recommended read:
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@www.windowslatest.com
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Microsoft Edge 136 is now rolling out, bringing Copilot AI integration to the New Tab Page (NTP) on Windows 11 and Windows 10. Users will start to see Copilot prompts when using the search box on the NTP. Selecting these prompts will directly open Copilot with the query pre-loaded, streamlining the process of utilizing AI for browsing tasks. Microsoft is also replacing the Bing or Search icon with the Copilot icon in the search box, ensuring users are instantly directed to Copilot.
This update signifies a shift towards AI-first browsing within the Edge ecosystem. An "Edge Copilot Mode" feature flag can turn Edge into a Copilot-first experience. Within Copilot mode, users can activate "Copilot-inspired New Tab Page," where Copilot takes over the NTP, replacing the search bar and features, like MSN, with a Copilot search bar that directs users to Bing.com or Copilot.Microsoft.com. Beyond Edge, Microsoft is also incorporating generative AI features into other applications. Windows Insiders can now utilize AI-powered sticker generation in Paint by entering a prompt. Additionally, a "Perfect Screenshot" feature in the Snipping Tool will resize selections using AI. Notepad also gains the ability to generate new content using AI prompts. Users can access these features through the Copilot menu or by using keyboard shortcuts. These additions highlight Microsoft's broader strategy of infusing AI across its product suite, enhancing user experience and productivity. Recommended read:
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Alex Simons@Microsoft Security Blog
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References:
blogs.microsoft.com
, Microsoft Security Blog
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Microsoft is heavily invested in the future of AI agents, showcasing significant advancements at Microsoft Build 2025. The company envisions an "age of AI agents" where systems proactively assist users, spotting problems and suggesting solutions independently. This shift moves beyond simple request-response interactions to a more dynamic and helpful AI experience. To support this evolution, Microsoft is focusing on adapting and enhancing existing identity standards, particularly OAuth, to manage how these agents access data and operate across diverse connected systems, spanning from APIs to sensitive business processes.
Microsoft is introducing Microsoft Entra Agent ID, extending its identity management and access capabilities to AI agents. This is a crucial step towards securing the "agentic workforce." Furthermore, the company has already launched a public preview of the Conditional Access Optimizer Agent, a multi-functional AI agent capable of analyzing Conditional Access policies, identifying security gaps, and deploying new policies in pilot mode. Similar investments are being made in agents for developer and operations workflows, such as SWE and SRE agents, designed to boost productivity for teams involved in application development and maintenance. Microsoft emphasizes that the industry needs to continue collaborating on establishing identity standards for agent access across various systems. The developments reflect Microsoft's commitment to building a robust and sophisticated suite of agents designed to augment and amplify organizational capabilities. Ultimately, Microsoft envisions these AI agents as integral components of an open agentic web, which requires a strong foundation of Zero Trust security principles. Recommended read:
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@www.microsoft.com
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Microsoft is aggressively pursuing AI integration across a range of its products and research initiatives. One notable project is Aurora, an AI model developed by Microsoft Research to revolutionize environmental forecasting. Senior Researchers Megan Stanley and Wessel Bruinsma are leading the charge, and recently discussed how Aurora extends its capabilities to predict tropical cyclones and ocean waves. Their work, detailed in a Nature publication titled "A Foundation Model for the Earth System," highlights Aurora's potential to significantly improve weather prediction accuracy and environmental understanding.
Microsoft is also experimenting with "AI Developing AI" through Project Amelie. This experimental AI agent aims to automate the creation of machine learning pipelines from a single prompt. Microsoft reports that in early testing, Project Amelie outperforms current state-of-the-art benchmarks on MLE-Bench, a framework that evaluates how effectively machine learning agents handle real-world tasks. During a live demo at Microsoft Build 2025, Project Amelie was showcased and how it can assist data scientists by automating the process of data sourcing, analysis, and formatting. This addresses the typically manual and time-consuming tasks involved in preparing data for machine learning. However, Microsoft's AI endeavors are not without their challenges. Research by Alex Lu, a senior researcher at Microsoft, indicates that zero-shot foundation models in single-cell biology currently underperform compared to simpler methods. Lu's work suggests that more research is needed to rigorously evaluate and improve the efficacy of AI models in biological applications. These findings, highlighted in the paper "Assessing the Limits of Zero-Shot Foundation Models in Single-Cell Biology," emphasize the importance of continued research and development to fully realize the potential of AI in scientific domains. Recommended read:
References :
Ken Yeung@Ken Yeung
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References:
PCMag Middle East ai
, Ken Yeung
Microsoft is exploring the frontier of AI-driven development with its experimental project, Project Amelie. Unveiled at Build 2025, Amelie is an AI agent designed to autonomously construct machine learning pipelines from a single prompt. This project showcases Microsoft's ambition to create AI that can develop AI, potentially revolutionizing how machine learning engineering tasks are performed. Powered by Microsoft Research's RD agent, Amelie aims to automate and optimize research and development processes in machine learning, eliminating the manual setup work typically handled by data scientists.
Early testing results are promising, with Microsoft reporting that Project Amelie has outperformed current benchmarks on MLE-Bench, a framework for evaluating machine learning agents' effectiveness in real-world tasks. During a live demo at Microsoft Build, Seth Juarez, Principal Program Manager for Microsoft's AI Platform, illustrated how Amelie could function as a "mini data scientist in a box," capable of processing and analyzing data that would typically take human scientists a day and a half to complete. This project has potential for applications in other scenarios where users want AI to carry out complex AI-related tasks. Should Project Amelie become commercialized, it could significantly advance Microsoft's goals for human-agent collaboration. While Microsoft is not alone in this endeavor, with companies like Google's DeepMind and OpenAI also exploring similar technologies, the project highlights a shift towards AI agents handling complex AI-related tasks independently. Developers interested in exploring the capabilities of Project Amelie can sign up to participate in its private preview, offering a glimpse into the future of AI-driven machine learning pipeline development. Recommended read:
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