After covering numerous Microsoft events in the past, this week’s special press event where the company unveiled its new lineup of Surface hardware powered by cutting-edge Qualcomm Snapdragon X Series SoCs (what our editor-in-chief calls “The Great PC Reset ” “) was the best I’ve seen so far.
And although we didn’t get our beloved Windows Phone back or a Variation on the surface theme, I’m excited to see Microsoft go all in on Windows on Arm. We won’t have to wait long to get our hands on these brilliant products. Microsoft promises that they will be available as soon as next month.
As for Windows, Microsoft is introducing a host of next-generation AI features in Windows 11 in June, including Recall, Live Captions, Windows Studio effects, and more. However, not everyone will have access to these sophisticated features. This is because they will require a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that can output up to 40 TOPS of power. Essentially, you’ll need a Copilot+ PC to access them.
Is Windows 11’s recall feature diabolical?
There’s no ETA on when Microsoft plans to deliver these new features to “traditional” Windows PCs at the start of a new era of AI-powered Windows PCs. The Recall feature in particular caught my eye and is probably the most interesting feature to be released in Windows 11 next month. Simply put by our Senior Editor Zach Bowden:
“It’s a tool that runs in the background and can take snapshots of everything you see and do on your computer, allowing you to search everything you’ve ever done on your computer using natural language.”
Bowden’s report also specifies that Recall will include a timeline feature placed at the top of your screen that lets you scroll back based on the search you’ve entered. The feature can achieve this because it has access to your screen, which encompasses apps, web pages, photos, and more. Think of it as Microsoft Photos’ scrollbar feature that lets you schedule photos taken years ago in seconds, but the only difference here is that Recall has a higher clearance for more photos.
I know, what does this mean for your privacy and security? Microsoft has categorically stated that the feature is 100% privacy focused. Simply put, the company won’t use any of the data made available by Recall to train its models.
This is because Recall runs the device’s NPU, which essentially puts you in the driver’s seat with absolute control how your data is processed. You can also restrict the feature from taking screenshots from certain apps or websites (which are stored locally on your computer). Users can also choose how long they want screenshots to be stored and how much space is allocated for this feature. Finally, you can turn off the feature if you don’t find it useful.
100% focused on privacy, but the concern continues to excite users
Microsoft’s just-announced Recall is a clean and convenient feature that could potentially revolutionize the way we interact with Windows computers forever, saving time and resources while promoting efficiency and effectiveness. This is one of the advantages of having access to AI, after all.
However, I am silently monitoring user responses and reactions to the new feature. Everything is kind of in the middle right now. No one plays it too safe or throws caution to the wind and explores the wild side of things where an AI-powered feature spies on everything you do on your computer.
User privacy and security are guaranteed if the past has taught us anything.
This is an episode of Black Mirror. I’m definitely turning this “feature” off. https://t.co/bx1KLqLf67May 20, 2024
In an interview with Joanna Stern of The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated:
“One of the dreams we’ve always had is how to introduce memory. Right? Photographic memory in what you do on your computer? And now we have it. So it’s called Recall. It’s not a keyword search, it’s a semantic search of your entire history. And it’s not just any document, it can recreate moments from the past.”
Microsoft’s promise of a 100% privacy focus for its Recall feature seems to be taken with a pinch of salt. Billionaire Elon Musk bluntly voiced his reservations about the feature, while comparing it to an episode of Black Mirror. It directly stated that it will turn off the feature enabled by default once it ships.
Musk’s sentiments resonated strongly on social media platforms, with a user on Reddit’s r/Windows 11 subreddit suggesting that it might be time to switch to Linux from Windows after 20 years of being an avid Windows user.
I think I’m done. After 20 years of using Windows from r/Windows11
“This is absurd. What on earth are Microsoft executives thinking with this extreme spyware?
Just imagine: by 2025, the only computer people will be able to buy is this Copliot+ crap. Most people won’t know about it or change their settings. And the security risk and attack surface of this thing is INSANE. And won’t it censor sensitive information? It is the wet dream of hackers, law enforcement and oppressive government.
This is bloody outrageous.
I was thinking about switching to Linux, but now I want to switch as soon as possible.”
Microsoft’s Recall feature is pretty impressive and I can’t wait to try it out. This will enhance and improve the way I interact with my computer — an easy way to “remember” where I saw Microsoft announce WinUI 3, joining WPF as the recommended native UI platform for Windows on my extensive list of embargoed documents at Microsoft Build 2024. But privacy and security concerns are valid, hopefully the device’s NPU will have a definitive answer.
