The pace of Artificial Intelligence (AI) innovation in 2024 has been extraordinary, with its rapid diffusion across industries making a profound impact on people and organisations worldwide. In his end-of-year address on December 18, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella highlighted the global reach and transformative power of AI, pointing to several examples.
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Here's a summary of key developments shared by Satya Nadella in his end-of-year video:
1. Institut Curie
Institut Curie in France is transforming research by using a customized Microsoft 365 Copilot agent to automate routine tasks, enabling scientists to focus on groundbreaking discoveries.
"Institut Curie has been at the forefront of cancer work since it was founded by Marie Curie a century ago. Now they continue to adopt the latest technologies, in this case AI, to make the most progress in the fight against cancer. Institut Curie is working with Microsoft and partner Witivio to develop Copilot for Researcher, an agent that can help researchers with some of the administrative tasks in their jobs so they have more time to spend on actual new ideas," Microsoft said.
2. Siemens and thyssenkrupp
Siemens and thyssenkrupp are joining forces to reshape industrial automation with the Azure OpenAI Service-driven Siemens Industrial Copilot. Designed to tackle the global shortage of skilled engineers, this solution uses natural language to streamline complex tasks, accelerate project timelines, and simplify automation.
"Engineers talking to machines? A few years ago it would have sounded like science fiction, but Siemens, thyssenkrupp and Microsoft are making it a reality today. thyssenkrupp is using the Siemens Industrial Copilot, powered by Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service, to address a skilled labour gap while revolutionizing how it programs and operates machinery," Microsoft said.
3. Julia in Rome
Rome is transforming tourism with Julia, a virtual assistant powered by Azure OpenAI Service. Julia provides real-time recommendations and historical insights to help travellers explore beyond traditional tourist routes. With multilingual capabilities, the assistant reduces congestion at popular sites while highlighting hidden gems.
"Rome is harnessing the power of AI to help make the 2025 Jubilee memorable for an extra 35 million visitors. By equipping travellers with a virtual assistant named Julia, the city hopes to create a quiet revolution in how people experience the city, all while easing congestion around the most popular sites," Microsoft said on its website.
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4. eFishery in Indonesia
Indonesia's eFishery has launched Mas Ahya, an AI copilot built on Azure OpenAI Service, to assist fish and shrimp farmers by translating technical data into actionable insights for sustainable yield improvements.
"Shrimp are sensitive creatures, needing just the right balance of light, oxygen, pH and phytoplankton to thrive in ponds. Farmers in Indonesia are turning to a generative AI assistant to help keep their shrimp healthy. Accessed through a mobile app, the AI assistant is a pilot project by aquaculture startup eFishery using Azure OpenAI Service," Microsoft said.
5. Shiksha Copilot in India
The Sikshana Foundation, in collaboration with Microsoft Research India, has introduced Shiksha Copilot for government school teachers. This AI-powered tool reduces lesson preparation time from over an hour to just minutes, using Azure OpenAI Service.
"Teachers in government schools in and around Bengaluru have been trying out Shiksha copilot to create lesson plans complete with activities, video and assessments, modified to match resources. It is part of a wider effort by Microsoft Research India called Project VeLLM to make generative AI copilots accessible to everybody from teachers to farmers to small businesses," the company added.
6. Eduvos in South Africa
Eduvos, supported by Braintree by Vox and Microsoft, has streamlined its student enrollment process. Using Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Azure, Eduvos has reduced enrollment times from 90 days to nearly instant while cutting costs by 90 percent.
"South Africa's Eduvos has streamlined student enrolment processes, reducing the time from 90 days to nearly instantaneous and associated costs by 90 percent with Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Azure," Microsoft said.
7. Project Guacamaya
Project Guacamaya is fighting deforestation by monitoring the Amazon rainforest with Microsoft AI. According to Microsoft, Researchers are studying daily satellite images, observing animal behaviour with hidden cameras, and listening to forest sounds with tiny microphones. AI processes this data faster than ever before, giving scientists the ability to observe changes and act quickly. The future of the Amazon is changing for the better with AI.
"The Guacamaya Project, a collaboration between Microsoft and Colombian organizations, applies various AI models tailored to the Amazon ecosystem to help prevent its deforestation. The latest technological advances allow scientists to obtain faster results to act more quickly," Microsoft said.
8. RadarFit
RadarFit, a health and wellness app, is transforming employee health management through gamification and AI. Using Azure OpenAI, the app helps companies like Cooabriel improve employee engagement, reduce health issues, and promote healthier lifestyles.
"A Brazilian technology startup that uses generative AI and a unique gamification strategy to encourage healthy habits has transformed what could be a daunting task into something fun and engaging. Launched in 2020 by a trio of women entrepreneurs, RadarFit offers a comprehensive health and wellness program aimed at helping companies reduce chronic disease rates. The app encourages and measures employee activity in four key metrics: healthy eating, hydration, meditation, and physical activity," Microsoft added.
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9. Khan Academy
Khan Academy is collaborating with Microsoft to expand access to AI tools that personalize teaching and make learning enjoyable. Microsoft has donated Azure AI infrastructure to support this initiative.
"The online tutoring pioneer is bringing time-saving and lesson-enhancing AI tools to millions of educators. By donating access to Azure AI-optimized infrastructure, Microsoft is enabling Khan Academy to offer all K-12 educators in the US free access to the pilot of Khanmigo for Teachers, which will now be powered by Azure OpenAI Service. The two companies will also collaborate to explore opportunities to improve AI tools for math tutoring with a new version of Phi-3, a family of small language models (SLMs) developed by Microsoft," the company said.
Previously, at Microsoft Build, Satya Nadella highlighted this partnership with Khan Academy, making Khanmigo for Teachers available for free to teachers across the United States.
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Conclusion
"Stories like these inspire me. They demonstrate what is possible when we amplify human achievement with technology. Because this era is not just about AI doing magical things. It's about how each of us can use AI to realise our potential. And I'm looking forward to how we build on this promise in the year ahead," concluded the Microsoft CEO in the video.
