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KAUST and Google Collaborate to Enhance AI Research in Saudi Arabia

Laboratory buildings at KAUST's campus in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. Image: AT Service/Wikimedia Commons
Laboratory buildings at KAUST's campus in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. Image: AT Service/Wikimedia Commons
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KAUST and Google Collaborate to Enhance AI Research in Saudi Arabia

Laboratory buildings at KAUST's campus in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. Image: AT Service/Wikimedia Commons
Laboratory buildings at KAUST's campus in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. Image: AT Service/Wikimedia Commons

The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) launched its investment project in supporting AI research in the Kingdom in collaboration with Google, the Saudi Press Agency said on Monday.
KAUST will provide research grants worth $100,000 to AI researchers from the University's Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Science and Engineering Department, to promote research in the field of machine learning, especially in the use of generative and large language models (LLMs).
The launch of these grants coincides with KAUST's announcement of its new Center of Excellence in Generative AI, which accelerates excellence in generative AI research and development in the Kingdom by innovating general-purpose generative AI models.
KAUST ranks 17th globally in the Computer Science Rankings (CSRankings), which measure the outputs of computer departments in the most prestigious scientific publications between 2014 and 2024 in the fields of AI, machine learning, and optical computing.

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Microsoft Revamps AI Copilot with New Voice, Reasoning Capabilities

Copilot logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
Copilot logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
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Microsoft Revamps AI Copilot with New Voice, Reasoning Capabilities

Copilot logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
Copilot logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)

Microsoft has given its consumer Copilot, an artificial intelligence assistant, a more amiable voice in its latest update, with the chatbot also capable of analyzing web pages for interested users as they browse.

The US software maker now has "an entire army" of creative directors - among them psychologists, novelists and comedians - finessing the tone and style of Copilot to distinguish it, Mustafa Suleyman, chief executive of Microsoft AI, told Reuters in an interview.

In one demonstration of the updated Copilot, a consumer asked what housewarming gift to buy at a grocery store for a friend who did not drink wine. After some back-and-forth, Copilot said aloud: "Italian (olive) oils are the hot stuff right now. Tuscan's my go-to. Super peppery."

The feature rollout, starting Tuesday, is one of the first that Suleyman has overseen since Microsoft created his division in March to focus on consumer products and technology research.

Long identified with business software, Microsoft has had a much harder road in the consumer realm. Its Bing search engine, for instance, is still dwarfed by Google.

Suleyman is hoping for a bigger splash with Copilot, which launched last year in a crowded field of AI chatbots, including OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini.

Copilot's newly fashioned voice capabilities make it seem much more of an active listener, giving verbal cues like "cool" and "huh," Suleyman said.

Underlying the product are Microsoft AI, or "MAI," models, plus a technology suite from partner OpenAI, Suleyman said.

Suleyman added that consumers who spend $20 monthly for Copilot Pro can start testing a "Think Deeper" feature that reasons through choices, like whether to move to one city or another.

He said an additional test feature for paying subscribers, Copilot Vision, amounts to "digital pointing" - the ability for users to talk to AI about what they see in a Microsoft Edge browser. Consumers have to opt in, and the content they view will not be saved or used to train AI, Microsoft said.

These updates represent "glimmers" of AI that can be an "ever-present confidant, in your corner," Suleyman said. It's a vision he articulated as CEO of Inflection AI, whose top talent Microsoft poached in a closely watched deal this year.

Suleyman said that eventually, Copilot will learn context from consumers' Word documents, Windows desktops, even their gaming consoles if they grant permission.

Asked what Bill Gates, Microsoft's co-founder, thinks of the company's AI efforts, Suleyman said Gates was excited.

"He's always asking me about when Copilot can read and parse his emails. It's one of his favorite ones," Suleyman said. "We're on the case."