This Monday, May 20, in parallel with the presentation of Copilot+, its new line of personal computers “optimized for AI”, the company from Redmond introduced a feature called Remind. Tool, compatible with these machines on the market since June 18 and shown as “the fastest and smartest ever designed”, offers a “photographic memory” which records all your actions on the computer. In other words, functionality Remindwhich is currently in the experimental phase and could be launched in the fall, will be “able to turn back time” at the user’s request, and find “content that (he) needs in any application, website, document or other”, press release details. But how is this technically possible? Explanations.
A tool that captures all the content displayed on the screen
By introducing RemindMicrosoft is realizing its old dream of creating the equivalent of photographic memory on its PCs, and thus offers the possibility “recreate moments from the past” rejoiced Satya Nadella, CEO of the company, during a interview given The Wall Street Journal. According to The Verge, the American company already tried, in 2017, to create a similar functionality on Windows 10 called Timeline. Its development had a final it was abolished in 2021.
In practice, Remind it is used “advanced processing capabilities of the Copilot+ computer to record your screen” at regular intervals, according to the FAQ published by Microsoft. after, Remind it relies on a generative AI model to process and organize them recordings, then rewrite them as a timeline. What then allows “find content you’ve been watching on your computer using search or a timeline that lets you scroll through screenshots”.
Thanks to Remindtherefore, it will be possible to find a lost version of a Word document, a specific image viewed on a website, or a conversation with a colleague on Microsoft Teams, simply by formulating a query in natural language or scrolling through the timeline. “Relying on screenshots, you can search more intuitively, thanks to suggested actions based on object recognition”completed by Microsoft.
Concern for privacy
If the concept seems appealing and enabling, as Microsoft’s vice president explained, yes “tackling one of the problems we all face every day: getting to a file, email (or) web page”, received a mixed reception from users, worried about the idea that a company like Microsoft could access an archive containing all their private data. But in its press release, the Redmond-based company sought to reassure, reminding that the functionality works locally and that all data recorded by the tool will be end-to-end encrypted.
Revocation screenshots are only associated with the user profile. Recall does not share them with other users or make them available to Microsoft for viewing or targeted advertising, the company said in its press release.
In addition, it will be possible to limit the frequency recordings conducted by Remind, limit its use to certain browsers or applications, or delete all data stored locally. Or, more simply, to completely suspend the functionality.