Microsoft to supercharge Copilot with Harvard Health data
What's the story
Microsoft is gearing up to give its AI chatbot, Copilot, a major upgrade. According to The Wall Street Journal, the new version will be powered by data from Harvard Health Publishing. This strategic move comes as part of Microsoft's plan to establish itself as an independent player in the AI space, rather than relying solely on its partnership with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT.
Strategic alliance
Copilot's 1st update since Harvard Medical partnership
The upcoming update of Copilot will be the first to show the results of Microsoft's partnership with Harvard Medical School. The new version will use data from Harvard Health Publishing to answer questions on health-related topics. Microsoft will pay a licensing fee for this, as part of its strategy to provide more reliable health information through Copilot.
AI advancement
Aim to provide doctor-like answers through Copilot
Dominic King, VP of Health at Microsoft AI, said the goal is for Copilot to provide answers that are more like what you'd get from a doctor. He stressed the importance of providing credible and trustworthy health information tailored to users' language and literacy. This move comes after concerns over chatbots giving inappropriate medical advice in the past.
AI expansion
Microsoft working on tool to help users find healthcare providers
Along with the Harvard collaboration, Microsoft is also working on a tool that would let Copilot find healthcare providers based on users' needs and insurance. This comes as part of Microsoft's broader push into healthcare under Mustafa Suleyman, Chief Executive of Microsoft AI. Despite an agreement to extend its partnership with OpenAI, Microsoft is still keen on becoming technologically independent from them.
Tech independence
Training its own models to reduce reliance on OpenAI
Microsoft is training its own models with the aim of eventually replacing OpenAI's workloads. This could take years, but the company has said that OpenAI "will continue to be our partner on frontier models." Despite trailing behind in consumer AI, Microsoft has started publicly testing a homegrown AI model for its Copilot chatbot. The company is also using non-OpenAI models for some of its other software.