28 Years After 'Clippy', Microsoft Upgrades Copilot With Cartoon Assistant 'Micu' (apnews.com) 19
"Clippy, the animated paper clip that annoyed Microsoft Office users nearly three decades ago, might have just been ahead of its time," writes the Associated Press:
Microsoft introduced a new artificial intelligence character called Mico (pronounced MEE'koh) on Thursday, a floating cartoon face shaped like a blob or flame that will embody the software giant's Copilot virtual assistant and marks the latest attempt by tech companies to imbue their AI chatbots with more of a personality... "When you talk about something sad, you can see Mico's face change. You can see it dance around and move as it gets excited with you," said Jacob Andreou, corporate vice president of product and growth for Microsoft AI, in an interview with The Associated Press. "It's in this effort of really landing this AI companion that you can really feel."
In the U.S. only so far, Copilot users on laptops and phone apps can speak to Mico, which changes colors, spins around and wears glasses when in "study" mode. It's also easy to shut off, which is a big difference from Microsoft's Clippit, better known as Clippy and infamous for its persistence in offering advice on word processing tools when it first appeared on desktop screens in 1997. "It was not well-attuned to user needs at the time," said Bryan Reimer, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Microsoft pushed it, we resisted it and they got rid of it. I think we're much more ready for things like that today..."
Microsoft's product releases Thursday include a new option to invite Copilot into a group chat, an idea that resembles how AI has been integrated into social media platforms like Snapchat, where Andreou used to work, or Meta's WhatsApp and Instagram. But Andreou said those interactions have often involved bringing in AI as a joke to "troll your friends," in contrast to Microsoft's designs for an "intensely collaborative" AI-assisted workplace.
In the U.S. only so far, Copilot users on laptops and phone apps can speak to Mico, which changes colors, spins around and wears glasses when in "study" mode. It's also easy to shut off, which is a big difference from Microsoft's Clippit, better known as Clippy and infamous for its persistence in offering advice on word processing tools when it first appeared on desktop screens in 1997. "It was not well-attuned to user needs at the time," said Bryan Reimer, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Microsoft pushed it, we resisted it and they got rid of it. I think we're much more ready for things like that today..."
Microsoft's product releases Thursday include a new option to invite Copilot into a group chat, an idea that resembles how AI has been integrated into social media platforms like Snapchat, where Andreou used to work, or Meta's WhatsApp and Instagram. But Andreou said those interactions have often involved bringing in AI as a joke to "troll your friends," in contrast to Microsoft's designs for an "intensely collaborative" AI-assisted workplace.
history repeats itself (Score:2)
Bring back Tay!
Re: history repeats itself (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Mi crosoft
C ontrols
U You
There is a Clippy Easter Egg with Copilot/Mico (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Wait... (Score:3)
Wait...we've seen this, a repeat, re-run on Saturday! Yikes, gadzooks, and shiver me timbers!
JoshK.
Re: (Score:3)
I see you're trying to post a dupe on /.
Anime Waifu Miku (Score:3)
I wonder how long until it becomes a waifu with massive melons and a mandate for "sensual chats with children".
Pandering to us. (Score:2)
M$ no longer (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Neither Clippy nor Windows 2.0 ended them the first time around, why would they now? Especially after the tech bro coup in Washington, they'll be designated with "too big to fail" status, not to mention "too big to compete". That antitrust thing in the 90s, that won't happen again.
Looks familiar... (Score:2)
Looks rather like Calcifer [fandom.com].
No (Score:2)
No it doesn't
Bring back Clippy! (Score:2)
Bring back Clippy, if it can prevent Slashdot dupes!
Clankers go home! (Score:2)