What will the future of Windows look like? Like it or not, AI will undoubtedly have a major role to play.
In a new video, Microsoft CVP for Enterprise and OS Security David Weston was asked to predict what Windows might look like by 2030, with a focus on an enterprise and security landscape.
Like it or not, Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and other AI technologies are upending the world. Microsoft itself is thought to have laid off thousands on the pyre of its AI initiatives this year, and other CEOs are ringing alarm bells over what AI might mean for employment and society at large.
Weston echoed these concerns a bit. In the interview, he notes how AI agents will potentially reduce robotic "toil work" employees have to engage with today, freeing them up to do more "creative" and human tasks. Future "security experts" you hire might actually simply be AI agents, that talk, behave, and interact as a human employee would.
"In 5 years I strongly believe you'll be able to hire a security expert, but actually under the hood, it's an AI agent. The way you interact will be a lot like you do with humans today. You'll talk to them in Microsoft Teams, they'll join meetings, you'll send them emails and assign them tasks," Weston continued. "So in your daily work life, that will set folks up to do less of what we call the "toil work," the work we don't love today, and allow you to focus on what humans are good at. Ideation, creativity, vision, connecting with humans on what products are necessary. These agents will be net amplifiers, and will enable us to do things we could only dream of just a few years ago.
David Weston thinks that future versions of Windows, maybe even Windows 12 itself, will radically change our perceptions of interaction and inputs. Weston says that today's world of "mousing around and typing" will feel as alien to future generations as MS-DOS does to Gen-Z.
"I think we will do less with our eyes and more talking to our computers," Weston explains. "And I truly believe that a future version of Windows, and other Microsoft operating systems, will interact in a multi-modal way. The computer will be able to see what we see, hear what we hear, and we can talk to it and ask it to do much more sophisticated things. I think it will be a much more natural form of communication. The world of mousing around and typing, will feel as alien as it does to Gen-Z to use MS-DOS."
I have often wondered why Windows wasn't more intuitive with voice commands. Using voice as a "third hand" is something I often find myself doing, but with Alexa, rather than my PC, since it's always listening and ready to take commands. However, with the latest version of Microsoft Copilot, you can turn on a "Hey Copilot" command which functions very similarly. Although, it's quite limited in what it can actually do, at least for today.
The computer will be able to see what we see, hear what we hear, and we can talk to it and ask it to do much more sophisticated things. I think it will be a much more natural form of communication.
Microsoft CVP, David Weston
To truly become useful at a consumer level, AI systems like Copilot would need exponentially more cloud compute most likely. David Weston is already thinking about what quantum computing might do for the future of Windows, given Microsoft's leadership in the quantum space.
"We will have unlimited compute in the form of quantum. We know that will change the security landscape dramatically. We need to get ahead of that, or simply, attackers will become asymmetric. I think that's a scary thought, but for me, it's a focusing thought — part of my job is to predict these things. It's one of the reasons, in Windows, we're introducing post-quantum or quantum-safe encryption now."
Windows 12 will doubtlessly come with heavy AI integrations
Details on what Windows 12 might actually look like are very scant, besides some concept art and other teasers from old Microsoft videos. One thing you can bet money on is deeper AI and Copilot integration, that's for sure.
Will we really be ditching mice and keyboards though? I somehow doubt it, but I can totally envision voice as becoming a "third" peripheral for maximized multi-tasking scenarios. What do you think?
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