New Microsoft Windows-based laptops will start shipping to customers next week, but they won’t have a flagship feature that’s been “recalled” and has raised concerns about privacy and cybersecurity.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella touted the new recall feature at a showcase event last month, describing it as a step toward artificial intelligence machines that can “instantly see, hear and infer humans’ intent and surroundings.”
Recall works by periodically taking snapshots of a computer screen, providing Microsoft’s AI assistant Copilot with a “photographic memory” of a person’s virtual activities, ostensibly to help them remember what they’ve done before.
“We are entering a new era where computers can not only understand us, but actually predict what we want and what we intend,” Nadella said in May.
But the company said Thursday it was postponing a “widely available” preview of Recall, which was scheduled to arrive on new PCs starting Tuesday.
Instead, it will first be rolled out to a small number of users who are part of the Windows Insider software testing program.
These early expert adoptions help “ensure an experience that meets our high standards for quality and security,” Pavan Davari, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of Windows and Devices, said in a statement.
The software giant unveiled a new type of AI-powered PC at its annual Build event last month as it faces stiff competition from big tech rivals touting generative AI technology that can write documents, create images and act as a human-like personal assistant at work or at home.
The new AI features in Microsoft’s Windows 11 operating system will be featured in new high-end computers made by Microsoft partners Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Samsung, as well as Microsoft’s Surface product line.
