🗞️In this edition

• Sponsored: PressMaster – AI for cognitive amplification

• Microsoft's voice-controlled Windows 11 vision

• Workflow Wednesday #41 ‘AI & Human Creativity’

• Uber drivers now train AI models

• In other AI news –

  • Italian publishers call for probe into Google’s AI Overviews, calling it a “traffic killer”

  • Pinterest lets users dial down AI-generated content with new feed controls

  • Spotify teams up with Sony, Universal, and Warner to expand its AI music ambitions

  • 4 must-try AI tools

Windows 11 is getting rewritten around AI: meet your talking computer

News – Microsoft Wants You to Talk to Your Computer (Again) 🗣️

What's Microsoft's vision?

As Microsoft bids farewell to Windows 10 and prepares to mark the 40-year milestone of its operating system, it wants to turn every Windows 11 PC into an AI PC that Copilot controls and users talk to.

"Let's rewrite the entire operating system around AI, and build essentially what becomes truly the AI PC," says Yusuf Mehdi, executive vice president and consumer chief marketing officer at Microsoft.

Bold vision. Haven't we heard this before though?

The big changes rolling out:

Microsoft is launching AI capabilities in Windows today that will weave AI features into regular Windows 11 PCs, instead of requiring consumers to buy a special Copilot Plus PC.

The biggest change? Microsoft thinks you'll want to talk to your computer and have Copilot take actions on your behalf.

"You should be able to talk to your PC, have it understand you, and then be able to have magic happen from that," says Mehdi.

Enter: "Hey, Copilot!"

Microsoft is rolling out a new wake word that activates Copilot on Windows 11 PCs. "Voice will now become the third input mechanism to use with your PC," says Mehdi. "It doesn't replace the keyboard and mouse necessarily, but it's an added thing."

Wait, didn't we try this already?

Yes. Microsoft tried to convince people to use Cortana on Windows 10 PCs a decade ago. That didn't exactly take off.

Microsoft is now convinced that AI will somehow spark a change in behavior and convince people that talking to a PC isn't weird.

"All the data that we see is when people use voice, they love it," says Mehdi, pointing to the billions of minutes people spend talking in Microsoft Teams meetings.

The new features explained:

Copilot Vision: An opt-in feature that can scan everything on your screen and coach you through using apps or answer questions about photos and documents. It's now rolling out worldwide in all markets where Copilot is available.

Unlike the Recall feature that automatically takes snapshots of your PC, Copilot Vision requires you to essentially stream what you're seeing on your screen, much like in a Teams call.

Copilot Actions: Allows Microsoft's AI assistant to take actions on a local PC, like making edits to a folder full of photos. Microsoft is starting to test these actions through a preview program, limited to a narrow set of use cases.

"In the beginning you might see the agent make some mistakes, or encounter some challenges when trying to use some really complex applications," admits Navjot Virk, corporate vice president of Windows Experiences.

An AI agent making mistakes using a computer? That's reassuring.

How it works:

Copilot Actions launches in a separate Windows desktop "secure and contained environment," and uses an AI agent to complete the job you've asked it to do. You can have it running in the background while you do something else, and it will list all the steps it's taking.

Microsoft is also integrating Copilot into the Windows taskbar, with one-click access to these new Copilot Vision and Voice features, plus a new integrated search experience.

The elephant in the room:

After the Recall fiasco last year, Microsoft will have a hard time convincing people to trust its Copilot Vision and Copilot Actions features, and an equally challenging time getting people to talk to their PCs.

That's not stopping Microsoft from trying. The company is planning to run television ads highlighting these new AI features in Windows 11, with the tagline "meet the computer you can talk to."

The bottom line:

Microsoft wants every person upgrading from Windows 10 to "experience what it means to have a PC that's not just a tool, but a true partner," says Mehdi.

Whether people actually want to talk to their computers? That's the billion-dollar question Microsoft is betting on. 🙋‍♂️

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This Week in Workflow Wednesday #41: AI & Human Creativity

Workflow #1: From Creative Thoughts to Instagram Post with Canva AI (free).
 Step 1: Head to Canva AI → Text-to-Image. Type the idea you’ve been sitting on.
Step 2: Generate 4–5 variations. Go back into the Canva AI and insert the prompt……… we explore this and 2 more workflows inside this week’s edition of Workflow Wednesday.

Your Uber driver might be training ChatGPT on the side now

News –  Uber Drivers Are Now AI Trainers (For a Dollar) 🚗🤖

What's the new feature?

Uber just launched a pilot program in the US that allows drivers and couriers to earn extra money by performing "microtasks" to train AI models.

These tasks include audio voice recording, capturing and uploading images, and submitting documents in certain languages.

Some examples: "upload images of cars," "record yourself speaking in your language or local dialect," or upload a menu written in Spanish.

That last one? Could earn you as much as a whole dollar.

So Uber is entering the AI training business?

Exactly. This move positions Uber's global army of freelance drivers and delivery workers to challenge established players like Scale AI and Amazon's Mechanical Turk.

Those platforms work with generative AI companies to help train their models by having humans annotate and label data. Most of that work is done through low-cost labor outside the US and is seen as critical in developing powerful AI models.

Is this really new for Uber?

Not entirely. Uber has used independent contractors to train AI models in the past, using "human-in-the-loop" processes that blend "human expertise with machine automation."

The company recently bought Belgian startup Segments.ai to expand its data-labeling business. Uber drivers in India were already given this opportunity. Now it's coming to the US.

Will drivers actually do this?

That remains to be seen, given how many drivers already complain of low pay due to Uber's high take rate on rides and deliveries.

Remember: Uber classifies drivers as independent contractors, arguing they're in business for themselves and thus ineligible for traditional benefits like overtime, minimum wage protections, and health insurance.

Some Uber drivers argue the company's algorithm exerts far too much control over their lives to be viewed as anything other than employment.

What else is Uber announcing?

This is one of many announcements Uber is making today around the idea of building "the best platform for flexible work," as CEO Dara Khosrowshahi declared at an event in Washington, DC.

Here's what else is rolling out:

Redesigned trip offer cards: Drivers get more time and information before accepting a trip. The cards now give drivers more time to make a decision when they first appear in the app.

New heatmap: Designed to give drivers more transparency about high-demand areas. Red areas indicate the shortest wait times, followed by orange, then yellow. Purple areas show where surge pricing is in effect.

Women Rider Preferences expansion: 

After launching in the US last July, this feature is now available in more cities, including Baltimore, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Seattle, Portland, and Washington, DC. It allows women drivers to set preferences to only receive women riders, and vice versa. In markets where it's available, women have used it on over 100 million trips.

Minimum rider ratings: Drivers can now set minimum ratings for riders based on their comfort levels, toggling the feature on or off depending on the situation.

Fairness updates: Uber says it will limit access to only specific types of earnings opportunities rather than the full platform when issues arise. For example, if an alcohol delivery issue is reported, drivers can still take food or rideshare trips.

If Uber receives a complaint from a rider about a driver, it will allow the driver to tell their side of the story before making a decision. And if a rider files false reports about a driver, that rider will risk deactivation.

Delayed Ride Guarantee: Drivers can earn more if a trip is delayed due to a customer or extenuating circumstances, like traffic or detours.

Beefed up tipping reminders: Uber is expanding them to iPhone Live Activities, so riders receive more nudges about tipping their drivers or couriers.

The bottom line:

Uber wants to be the ultimate app for "flexible work." Whether uploading menus for a dollar qualifies as flexible work is up for debate. 🙋‍♂️

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📢 What else is happening?

• Italian news publishers demand investigation into Google’s AI Overviews // Newspaper federation says ‘traffic killer’ feature violates legislation and threatens to destroy media diversity

• Pinterest adds controls to let you limit the amount of ‘AI slop’ in your feed // Users can now personalize their feeds to restrict generative AI imagery in select categories, and the company said it will make its existing GenAI content labels more noticeable in the days to come

• Spotify moves further into AI music with Sony, Universal, Warner partnership // The company did not outline any specific AI tools but said it has begun building a new AI research lab and product team

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