Microsoft announced a new standard PC keyboard layout with a “Copilot” key this week in AI. You read that correctly: Windows computers now have a dedicated key for launching Microsoft’s AI-powered sidekick Copilot, replacing the right Control key.
The move, one imagines, is intended to demonstrate Microsoft’s seriousness in the quest for consumer (and commercial) AI domination. Microsoft has modified the Windows keyboard layout for the first time in 30 years; laptops and keyboards with the Copilot key are expected to ship as early as late February.
Is it all bluster, however? Do Windows users truly desire an AI shortcut — or Microsoft’s flavor of AI in general?
Microsoft has included “Copilot” capability into practically all of its products, old and new. The company is making its AI technology visible in glitzy keynotes, slick demos, and an AI key – and counting on this to generate demand.
Demand is not a foregone conclusion. To be honest, a few suppliers have turned viral AI hits into successes. Consider OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, which is expected to surpass $1.6 billion in annualized revenue by the end of 2023. Midjourney, a generative art platform, also appears to be lucrative – and has yet to accept any outside funding.
However, there is a focus on a few. Most vendors have had to seek more significant and larger tranches of cash to stay alive, owing to the high expenses of training and running cutting-edge AI models. Anthropic, for example, is rumored to be gathering $750 million in a round that would bring its total funding to more than $8 billion.
Microsoft and its chip partners AMD and Intel believe that AI processing will gradually shift from pricey data centers to local silicon, commoditizing AI – which may be correct. Intel’s latest consumer processor portfolio includes custom-designed AI cores. Furthermore, new data center chips such as Microsoft’s own could make model training less expensive than it is now.
However, there is no certainty. The actual test will be whether Windows consumers and enterprise clients who have been hit with what amounts to Copilot advertising demonstrate a desire for the technology – and are willing to pay for it. If they do not, Microsoft may be forced to revamp the Windows keyboard again.
