August 2024

Inside you, stories swirl. Yarns wait to be plucked from your mind’s most inventive corners then shared with the world.

To tease them out, many of us just need a little help. AI can be that conduit, inspiring you to guide those strands of imagination from your head to your screen, where you can polish them into personal, maybe even powerful tales or tableaus.  

Here’s the point, though: That creativity doesn’t come from AI. It comes from you.

This month, we’ll share experiences from a handful of designers, artists and writers. Each used Microsoft Copilot to help them craft unique narratives, uplifting lines of poetry and vibrant images that range from the whimsical to the cinematic to the gloriously zany.

We’ve also got a fresh quiz to test your smarts on some ways AI is changing how we work. And we’ll show you how Special Olympics athletes are leading that organization’s race toward a tech evolution.

Feeling creative? Well, have we got some fascinating folks for you to meet.

Each summer, about 15,000 young professionals in communications and advertising head to France to savor a smorgasbord of original thinking.

They gather at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity to share, absorb and award groundbreaking ideas across those fields. In celebration of that event, we asked creators around the world to pen a unique story in Copilot.

We gave them just one rule for their prompts: Include the film-noir line, “The door flew open, and in walked trouble …” They dredged up some messy trouble, some fun trouble and a wild whirlwind of trouble.

Take Regan Warner. The London-based creative director and designer tapped some furry inspiration from her workday – three cats that dominate her desk space.

With a little AI assistance, she generated an image of a stylishly curated cat house, aglow with filtered sunlight, live plants (catnip, we suspect) and one full-on hipster kitty.

Elsewhere in the city, the daily crush of commuters barging on and off trains in the London Underground “is trouble to me,” writes Peniel Gebreselassie, whose design work spans fashion, art and, recently, a cheeky Xbox controller inspired by the summer blockbuster “Deadpool & Wolverine.”

That last accomplishment is apropos. Because sometimes, Gebreselassie feels like she needs superpowers just to navigate crowds. So she figured, why not use Copilot to help her sketch out a mythical product to ease those mob-filled moments?

Tah-dah! Meet the “Anti-Trouble Bubble.” Built with air ventilation and AC, the protective outfit inflates with the click of a button and offers a USB port for recharging. After the morning or evening rush is done, it deflates, enabling it to be tucked into a tote bag or jacket pocket. If only, right?

On a far different note, the tangled dance between our dreams and the chaos of our lives stirred Candace Solola to produce a passage – and a wild image – blending stormy and serene notes. Solola, an award-winning brand designer in Chicago, wrote that “in the heart of every tempest, lies a core of tranquil light, guiding us through the turbulence.”

In the end, the AI exercise led her to write a pretty awesome mantra: “So let the winds of chaos roar, and the beauty within us shine.”

When August Heffner reflected on his art school experiences – and the many jobs he subsequently landed as a designer – he realized how many doors had so nicely opened for him along the way.

The executive creative director from Portland, Oregon turned that feeling of gratitude into a sense of mission to now open doors for others through hiring, mentoring, teaching and elevating a younger generation of creatives.

“So in walks the next generation … trouble,” Heffner wrote. “And in the words of (the late civil rights giant and U.S.) Rep. John Lewis, ‘they’re bringing good trouble.’ They will challenge everything that came before them. That includes challenging you and me. I’m here to blow doors open and invite trouble.”

He used that revelation to prompt Copilot to produce an image of a boy, wearing glasses and sculpting a rabbit in an art studio bathed in warm, natural light.

Now, fellow troublemakers and creative peeps, we’d love to see your AI-generated “in-walks-trouble” images in the comments. Head to Image Creator in Bing and, using that same prompt, show us what you got in the comments!

AI: You’re grounded

Nobody should stifle your creativity. But sometimes AI can get, like, a little too creative.

AI models can occasionally get it wrong. Sometimes that happens when changes are made to the vast models that AI taps for its learning. When those instances pop up, we call that content “ungrounded.” That means the responses are not linked to verifiable facts.

Now, such AI fabrications can be helpful, if you’re, say, making up a story. But they’re not great when you need precise, factually airtight answers.

Learn more about the responsible tools we’ve put in place to measure, detect and reduce inaccuracies and ungrounded content.

Let’s test your AIQ

In February, we shared a quiz to pinpoint your “AI personality.” We’re back with a fun, 10-question test to measure your understanding of how people and organizations are adopting and using AI at work.

No spoilers here. But the latest quiz includes questions like: Which industry is adding AI to their infrastructure the quickest? Among global knowledge workers now using that tech in their jobs, how is it helping them most? A hint on that one (you’re welcome): Time is money!

Fresh triumphs, fresh tech at Special Olympics

Haleigh Sommers, a Special Olympics athlete, recently enjoyed a sweet “ego boost.”

She rolled her all-time bowling high – 140! – at a Special Olympics event. That was great but she’s more jazzed by the fact that she can lend her voice to the design and functionality of a new digital “center of excellence” the organization is building. Using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales, the portal will make it easier for athletes to register online for sports and help mobilize millions of volunteers.

Sommers is one of many athletes and volunteers invited to use the new interface, then help shape its look and feel.

“Even though I have a disability, I can give feedback – and it’s heard and listened to,” says Sommers, 28, who lives in Pennsylvania. She has cerebral palsy. “I didn’t think I would be this involved in Special Olympics when I started. It’s crazy to me!”

Between issues, follow the Microsoft News and Stories LinkedIn page for the latest company news, or visit us at Microsoft Source to learn about people doing extraordinary things with technology.