The video discussion involves insights from Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, on how technology, specifically artificial intelligence (AI) and the cloud, is being harnessed to tackle global challenges like climate change, economic inequality, and the transition to sustainable energy. He emphasizes the role of tech giants in creating solutions that foster economic growth without harming the planet, while also enhancing social cohesion and trust. Nadella discusses Microsoft's efforts, including the development of AI tools such as GitHub Copilot and their application across various professional domains.

He further elaborates on how AI is reshaping jobs and the workplace, advocating for skills transformation and digital capability building to keep pace with technological advances. Nadella sees AI as an empowering tool that provides 'copilot' support, amplifying human potential and productivity. This vision extends to the metaverse where technology is used to create digital twins, enhancing collaboration and solving complex problems through cloud computing capabilities.

Main takeaways from the video:

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Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. juxtaposition [ˌdʒʌkstəpəˈzɪʃən] - (noun) - The act of placing different things side by side to compare or contrast them or to create an interesting effect. - Synonyms: (contrast, comparison, collocation)

The same week there was a new suite cover which talked about the energy crisis, inflation. And so that juxtaposition of those two magazine covers sort of, I think, are back with us in some sense.

2. malleable [ˈmæl.i.ə.bəl] - (adjective) - Easily influenced, pliable, or able to be shaped. - Synonyms: (pliable, flexible, adaptable)

Of course, I come at it with the bias of software as the most malleable resource that we have, that we now got to use to tame all of what's happening.

3. inequities [ɪˈnɛkwɪtiːz] - (noun) - Unfair, uneven or unequal conditions, treatments, or opportunities. - Synonyms: (injustices, disparities, inequalities)

We definitely also need more social cohesion inside the United States in the world. So that means we have to deal with inequities.

4. paradigm [ˈpær.ə.daɪm] - (noun) - A model of something, or a very clear and typical example of something. - Synonyms: (model, standard, archetype)

But the thing that I didn't realize is in order to move the world from one paradigm to the other, we kind of have to compress maybe 150 years of chemistry into like five years, ten years, 20 years.

5. amplify [ˈæmplɪfaɪ] - (verb) - To increase the strength of something. - Synonyms: (boost, enhance, magnify)

And one of the things that I think that Microsoft is doing very well is thinking about how to amplify human beings.

6. phenomenal [fəˈnɒmɪnl] - (adjective) - Remarkable or exceptional, especially exceptionally good. - Synonyms: (extraordinary, remarkable, exceptional)

What's happening with these large multimodal models? It's pretty phenomenal.

7. embodied [ɛmˈbɑːdid] - (verb) - To give a visible form to an idea, quality, or feeling. - Synonyms: (incarnate, personify, exemplify)

embodied presence in a place without being there. That's a killer app, right?

8. digitize [ˈdɪdʒɪtaɪz] - (verb) - To convert something into a digital format. - Synonyms: (convert, encode, encode electronically)

But the point about the metaverse to me is we have done it by reference, right? So you schematize something you know about a person, a place, a thing, whereas for the first time, you now can do it by value, right? So you can schematize the actual place or digitize the actual place, the actual thing, the actual person

9. elasticity [ˌiːlæˈstɪsəti] - (noun) - Ability to stretch and return to its original size and shape. - Synonyms: (flexibility, adaptability, resilience)

You had the mainframes, you had the minis, you had the client server revolutions, they were all about sort of really creating more elasticity in some sense of compute.

10. structural [ˈstrʌktʃərəl] - (adjective) - Related to the arrangement or organization of parts. - Synonyms: (organizational, configurational, constructive)

So the first line workers, you know, whatever, 60% of the workforce didn't have the option of working remotely or working from home. So I think let's recognize that. But having said that, I think the knowledge workers, there's just a real structural shift.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on AI, the metaverse & remote work | Masters of Scale Summit 2022

So I think I will add to the introduction and something I've never told you, which is, when Satya and I started talking about combining Microsoft and LinkedIn, I knew there was a bunch of different very good ways in which the missions were friends, the cultures cared about, how do you elevate human potential and how do you make them productive? And I knew that that was going to be part of the magic of combining the companies. What I didn't fully know is that part of the magic would be also working with you, because not only is Satya an extremely smart and accomplished skilled executive, but also genuinely looks at this kind of large scale, and what are the things that the world is coming and how do you take your responsibilities for that world very seriously in shaping the world you want to get?

So it's been a honor and a pleasure being on this journey. Thank you so much, Reid. And the next time the board does my evaluation, I'll ask you to put that in. Yes, I would be delighted to do that.

So let's start from the very scope of the world, which is obviously, we have wars, pandemics, and markets. Oh, my. We have climate change, world on fire. We'll be talking to Bill about that at the closing of the last session of the conference. But one of the things that you're doing and very much focused on your mission is how do you essentially use technology to help solve these large problems? What's the shape of the ways that people should think about technology and they solve solving scale problems in the world ahead in this world that has so much challenge?

Yeah, no, it's something that I've been thinking a lot about. In fact, you talked since you mentioned Bill, the month when that popular electronics magazine came out, which I guess Bill picked up along with Paul Allen and started Microsoft. The same week there was a new suite cover which talked about the energy crisis, inflation. And so that juxtaposition of those two magazine covers sort of, I think, are back with us in some sense, which is you have all the things that you talked about as the challenges or constraints. And so this idea of doing more with less.

Of course, I come at it with the bias of software as the most malleable resource that we have, that we now got to use to tame all of what's happening. But the way I think about. Let's talk about more. What is more? I would say economic growth. I mean, if I look at human history, the last 250 years have been pretty unique, right? It is the scientific revolution combined with a whole bunch of other things that happen, which created modern life. We've enjoyed it, except we do have real challenges.

Let's take energy, right? Then whatever economic growth that comes next cannot break the planet. We definitely also need more social cohesion inside the United States in the world. So that means we have to deal with inequities.

So to me, thinking about technology that drives economic growth while we in some sense, we need a new constraint solver where you need economic growth, but don't break the planet. Create more trust, create more equity. And that's what I think I'm most excited about. Or at least that's what Microsoft's mission is.

And in fact, the way I describe it is what if we now, maybe during the founding of Microsoft, you picked one magazine and sort of created history this time around, pick both the covers and then go to work on it.

And speaking of creating history, we are in this huge shift in artificial intelligence. And one of the things that I think that Microsoft is doing very well is thinking about how to amplify human beings. And one of the products we already have in the market is copilot. So say a little bit about copilot and say how that isn't just why it's really interesting for engineering and developers and how technology, the creation of technology, but also go to how this is a way that all professionals, all creatives should be thinking about what kinds of transformations are coming down the pike.

Yeah, I mean, this, if you step back for a second, I think Greg Brachman is also coming later. What's happening with these large multimodal models? It's pretty phenomenal. And essentially the curve on intelligence. Basically, by throwing more compute, you're creating more intelligence. So let's take that. If you don't, Greg, I'm sure we'll talk a lot more about it, but let's take that as a given.

I love this idea of this metaphor of a copilot because it goes back to, I think, to the theme of masters of scale. It's such an empowering word, even, right? So I'm the pilot and I have a copilot, the GitHub copilot. Essentially, it's an AI pair programmer. In fact, it's the thing that makes me feel just great every weekend, whenever I feel like I bring up versus code, it's kind of, believe me, I wish I could code better. But nowadays, with thanks to GitHub Copilot, I can get into anything and feel like a super person, like super programmer. The idea that you can really tame the learning curve on the most intense knowledge work.

Software programming is just pretty phenomenal. You can prompt for whatever it is that you want to do, and it'll generate the code for you. But it's just not that. You can just highlight a bunch of code. This is stuff that we have in the labs now, which is you can highlight a bunch of code. It'll explain it for you in English, which is probably a great way to learn it. Let's say one of the things that's happening is everybody's saying, hey, c to rust, which is, how do I move to perhaps a more security first language from c, and it'll translate it for you if you have something of that nature.

And inside of the data we have, it's around 30%, 40% of the code is being generated by the AI programmer, but you're still in the loop. The way the design even works is you don't feel the loss of control. If anything, you feel more in control, more productive, more empowered. And I love that human feeling.

And somebody described this to me, which is when the first computers came, how people felt using them is how, I think the copilot recaptures it. And to your point, it'll change everything.

Like, we were working with Autodesk on Maya. So you can imagine architecture, industrial design, pretty much any field. You can have a copilot for everything. And so that, I think, is a great metaphor. There will be automation and full automation. Somebody gave me this nice sort of AI metaphor of, you are in the loop. On the loop or off the loop? It's sort of a good way to think about the three designs. This one is, you're in the loop, and that's a place to focus on.

Yeah, I mean, it's one of the things that I think gets so often lost in the discussion of artificial intelligence is that there because it's like, well, okay, look at Hollywood video. Most of it's like Terminator ex machina, et cetera, et cetera. The revolution we're in is enabling human beings. Right.

We will get to other questions. There will be important questions around equity. Important questions are handling it. But the amplifying, giving all human beings superpowers like that was one of the things that Dolly, which you're also doing with designer, which is, how do you make everyone and all of their skills more able to do amazing things?

100%. And then the one other thing, Reid, you mentioned, let's take this entire energy transition. I had not understood this, and there are many more experts. You're talking to bill later. But the thing that I didn't realize is in order to move the world from one paradigm to the other, we kind of have to compress maybe 150 years of chemistry into like five years, ten years, 20 years.

There's no way we can do that without a copilot for it. Like in other words, just finding the new molecules that completely change what is our petrochemical base. That's the type of stuff that I think is doing more with less to me.

Yep. And what do you think when people think about what are the ways that they should kind of approach their own skills and careers? Like you also mentioned already with copilot, your own coding. But when they're thinking about these tools, how should they think about how do I adjust, how do I help, how do I lead my organization's adjust? What's the ways to think about this?

Yeah, it's first of all, one of the things that I'm most, when we think about digital capability building, I go back when the PC was born. I distinctly remember the first time I used a spreadsheet. I don't know how you all felt, but it's just, I mean, Excel is my most favorite, I might as well admit it, right? But think about it, right? When you first were able to make sense of numbers, right? Your relationship with numbers changed.

And so knowledge work in particular in the early nineties as it started spreading, you could even say late eighties. But early nineties is when with sort of the graphical interface completely changed. Interestingly enough, the question is what is the moral equivalent of that? I do believe a domain expert who has, I'll call it Excel class skills. Can they create automation? Can they create workflows? That's sort of I think the real way to think about even skilling.

So one of the things is there will always be elite skills like the people doing these large scale AI models is one side. But the most exciting thing to me is the Excel like skills that are going to spread around the world in every domain. In fact, one of the things that I've seen even in the pandemic where there wasn't enough time to go to the digital team to have them build stuff for you, domain experts were turning to robotic process automation or these low code, no code tools to create applications. And guess what, they were being assisted by AI.

In fact, we have in power platform the idea that you could just take pictures of, say some design you drew on a piece of napkin and turn it into an app, right? So there is AI that does the forms recognition, generates the code and then you can probably add a formula too. That type of skill, in some sense, it takes the domain skill you have and makes it a digital skill. And that's just fundamental amplification.

Yeah. This blurring and crossover of the world between atoms and bits is actually one of the things I think is really leading to the amplification. So let's add to this metaverse and start with digital twinning. Because part of the whole thing about being able to amplify the world we live in, the world we navigate, is to use these tools within simulation environments within, and be able to apply them in a much stronger way. So what's the way that you're thinking about this?

Yeah, I mean, the way, at least I think about it, is all of the software categories we've always had are all about essentially creating digital twins of people, places and things. So there's, Bill would always say to me, there's only one software category, it's called information management. And I never understood what the heck does he mean by that? But it fundamentally is. That's all it is. You schematize the world, and then that helps you reason about the world.

But the point about the metaverse to me is we have done it by reference, right? So you schematize something you know about a person, a place, a thing, whereas for the first time, you now can do it by value, right? So you can schematize the actual place or digitize the actual place, the actual thing, the actual person. And then you put the two things together.

embodied presence in a place without being there. That's a killer app, right? I mean, teams meetings are fantastic, but what if we can have this type of setting where embodied presence can actually happen? That, to me, is the killer app in a world where we move towards the metaverse. But to your point about digital twins, I must say this. Even in the pandemic, one place where we saw a lot of acceleration is every warehouse, every factory effectively got digitized.

And the benefits of digitization mean that you can run in simulation, that is, less waste, less energy, more accuracy, the ability to sort of remotely debug things. So I think that to some degree, that thinking about this as just the next phase where we are digitizing by value, not just by reference, is probably a good way to think about the metaverse.

Yep. And how does the metaverse work? Which obviously it's very easy for people to imagine, things like snow Crash and entertainment and all the rest. But part of what I wanted to highlight, because there's a bunch of the work that Microsoft and you guys are doing is it's not just that, it's how you work, it's how you solve difficult problems, it's how you kind of game out things. Now, how is that a core part of the cloud revolution? So talk a little bit about how metaverse and cloud go together.

Yeah, I mean, the thing that I find that cloud has just done is for any category, whether it is AI or for metaverse is created abundance of compute at the foundational level. I mean, if you think about it, right, you know, you had the mainframes, you had the minis, you had the client server revolutions, they were all about sort of really creating more elasticity in some sense of compute. But the cloud is truly the first time where you can just throw lots more compute at any problem you want.

The other thing is, especially at a time when Moore's law seems to be running out of gas, you now need new system architectures. Basically, in order to be able to train these large scale AI models, we had to completely build a new type of supercomputer, which is very different than what you would do to run, just say, regular enterprise vms or what have you. So that to me is what is really helpful, which is you can have different system architectures in order to think about real time streaming and visualization is a very different type of workload, but that requires different type of computation. And we can build the cloud for that and then make it elastic.

You can do the same thing for training, you can do the same thing for inference. So that to me, is why I think the cloud revolution is still in the very early stages. But the way I myself, having started in the Microsoft cloud way back in 2010, and to recognize it now, I just can't. I mean, it's just a very different beast. And so when we say cloud, what do we mean? We mean compute systems that are changing by the nature of the workloads.

And then to shift a little, let's talk about the future of collaboration. We've all come out of the pandemic. We've all kind of suddenly gotten shift. Many of us got shifted in location. We have this kind of question, and this may also be you in terms of how you're leading Microsoft, not just the tech, but it's like 70% of people say, according to Microsoft data, they want this flexibility, but also 70% say they want more human connection.

So how is it both leading Microsoft and the tools you're navigating this apparent paradox? It's hard, first, because there are a lot of people who during even all of this came to work. Right? So the first line workers, you know, whatever, 60% of the workforce didn't have the option of working remotely or working from home. So I think let's recognize that. But having said that, I think the knowledge workers, there's just a real structural shift. We did a survey recently, or just looked at data pretty broadly across sectors, across geos, and there were three findings that at least we are staring at, including ourselves, at Microsoft.

The first one is what we describe as this productivity paradox. Right? I mean, 85% of the managers think their employees are slacking off, and 85% of the employees think that they're working too hard and they're burnt out, and it's real data. And so we have this paradox as to how can you sort of see the same thing in two different ways. And so the only way around it, Reed, to me, is you got to use data. In other words, dogma is not going to help, and you now need to ground yourself on how do you act, for example, have aligned goals.

If anything, I think as leaders, we have to learn how to bring clarity to what is the output that you'd like to see, what are the measures of it, and then using that to see whether it's working or not, and then create the norms. The other piece that's very interesting is, I mean, think about it, right? In the introduction of the summit, you sort of talked about people came here not because you sort of set a policy and mandated it. They came for other people. People come for people, not for policy. And I like to say that all of us are now event managers. Right?

It's not just the, believe me, if I say I have a meeting, nobody's going to show up. But if I say, oh, I have an event, people are going to come at least once. And so you really have to learn, I think, as a leader, new soft skills, skills around how to create occasions. What does it mean to hold an event? And then I would say the last thing is, I think every one of us grew a lot during the pandemic.

Just because you had one onboarding, which was a remote onboarding, means nothing. You have to re recruit, re energize. So there's a lot of tough, tough work. But I, there's lots of tools, there's lots of technologies, but the interesting scarce commodity, I think, is a little bit of what is the new set of soft, new set of soft skills and leadership skills we have to learn. Just because you were a great leader in 2019, you can't keep going back and saying, I just want the world to look like 2019. It just.

I mean, maybe it will, but I don't think so. Yeah. Wishes were fishes. All right, so we are actually in overtime. So very quickly, leaders in this room, leaders in a live feed, run other teams with one message about how the world is changing. Technology, workforce, et cetera. What would it be?

I think the thing the world needs today more than anything else from leaders is optimism and energy. It's easy to sort of be down on everything. Well, the way you started the conversation, that's my role, not that you are referencing the world. So what does a leader do? I think my true measure of any leader is who can come into a situation, bring clarity, generate energy, and solve over constrained problems. And as long as you do those three things, then I think we'll be a better place. Satya, always amazing. Thank you.

What said at the summit stays at the summit. Everybody will have to pay attention. Almost no one sees this coming. Those founders are becoming more globally ambitious. They're coming after your talent, your capital, your market share. The difficulty is when a team has been working so hard on one thing, if you are trying to use your time and your talent and your money in the service of others, the work will never end.

We have to deal with the inequities. It's different if you're a founder, but when you walk into something so big and so perfect and so successful, you know, it's not about me. It's about me becoming a part of it and just evolving it and making it better. The thing that I love about it, and it makes me so optimistic, is that it's just creating more dialogue. I'm here to tell you that. Wow. Human innovation's incredible. This is masters of scale summit.

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