With Microsoft's recent integration of Copilot into Windows, AI is even on the old stalwart of computing-the desktop.
In this blog post, I'd like to share the results of my brief investigation into how Microsoft has integrated Copilot into its legacy desktop system.
First, and most importantly, Microsoft Copilot works only with a functioning internet connection.
Second, as with other AI-enabled tools, Copilot's results aren't always stable or reliable.
The fact that Copilot can give you something unexpected takes some getting used to and requires an initial trial-and-error period to discover what works and what doesn't.
In the most recent Windows 11 release, Microsoft officially introduced Windows Copilot-an everyday AI companion that exists on the desktop and is ready to answer any question.
Copilot will uniquely incorporate the context and intelligence of the web, your work data and what you are doing in the moment on your PC to provide better assistance - with your privacy and security at the forefront.
Just like Bing AI, Copilot does not have a local AI model.
Copilot requires an active internet connection to function.
Copilot will search its own knowledge base or access the web to give you answers to any questions you ask.
By default, Copilot will perform only general web queries and won't access any user data or data related to the current web session.
Even in that default state, Copilot does have access to metadata provided by the browser and operating system, such as the IP address, location, and preferred language.
An optional setting allows Copilot to access the current browser session to collect information about the URLs and titles of the currently open web pages and the content of the active web page.
Copilot comes with other capabilities beyond the ability to answer basic queries.
Each action results in a message from Copilot asking for user confirmation before performing the action.
As Copilot matures, we look forward to seeing what new capabilities it can provide.
Even though Microsoft Copilot is in its early stages, it demonstrates significant capabilities.
Copilot's capacity to affect change on local systems is particularly noteworthy.
The ability to access local operations through Copilot could help attackers perform local actions on a machine without being detected; and if Microsoft expands the list of available operations in the future, this concern would only grow.
Though the integration of AI into desktop environments is an exciting development, these concerns will have to be a critical focus of developers and researchers as Microsoft continues iterating on Copilot, and as more AI-operating system integrations inevitably enter the scene.
This Cyber News was published on securityboulevard.com. Publication date: Wed, 27 Dec 2023 17:13:04 +0000