AI: Help & Inspire
Jordi Ribas of Microsoft emphasizes AI's crucial role in assisting and inspiring people
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Jordi Ribas, Microsoft's Corporate Vice President of Search and AI, says artificial intelligence is no longer just a productivity tool. "La IA está para ayudar e incluso para inspirar" — AI is here to help and even to inspire — is now the company's core message. Ribas, a 24-year Microsoft veteran, made this argument the centerpiece of his keynote at South Summit Madrid in June 2024, according to El País.
The shift in language is deliberate. Microsoft wants to move AI from the server room to the writer's desk. Under Ribas, Bing went from a search engine to a generative AI tool. Daily active users reached 140 million by late 2024, up sharply from pre-AI levels, according to Microsoft's Q4 Earnings Report.
From Search Engine to Creative Copilot
The transformation began on February 7, 2023, when Microsoft launched the "new Bing" powered by OpenAI's GPT-4. Ribas was the primary architect of that integration, according to The Verge. By November 2023, Microsoft rebranded Bing Chat as "Copilot" — a name chosen to signal partnership, not replacement.
Ribas argues that AI's greatest value is defeating the "blank page syndrome" — the paralysis people feel before starting a creative task. He says AI gives coding ability to those who don't know Python and artistic ability to those who can't draw. It is, in his words, an equalizer of human potential.
Microsoft's Business Case Behind the 'Inspiration' Message
The "inspiration" framing is not just philosophical — it is commercial. Forrester Research says Microsoft's messaging is designed to justify the $20-per-month Copilot Pro subscription. By calling AI a creative tool rather than a search utility, Microsoft can charge a premium, according to Forrester.
The numbers back the push. Microsoft's internal Work Trend Index found that 70% of Copilot users report feeling more productive. Separately, 68% of workers say they struggle with the pace of work — exactly the pain point Ribas says AI is built to solve, according to El Periódico.
Critics Call 'Inspiration' a Cover for Deeper Problems
Not everyone buys the message. Artists and copyright litigants — including cases involving Getty Images — argue that AI is not inspired. It is derivative. The AI learns from millions of copyrighted works without compensation. What Ribas calls inspiration, critics call automated plagiarism, according to The New Yorker.
Some computer scientists go further. They say "inspiration" is just a marketing word for "unpredictability." When AI produces a false fact, it is called a hallucination. When it produces a beautiful image, it is called creative. The underlying mechanism is the same, according to MIT Technology Review.
EU Regulators and the Risk of AI-Driven Homogenization
European Union officials are watching closely. Under the EU AI Act, regulators focus on risk — not inspiration. They question whether AI-generated creativity could lead to a loss of critical thinking or cultural homogenization across Europe, according to Politico Europe.
The stakes are high. Goldman Sachs research warns that if AI enters the "inspiration" phase fully, the cost of generating ideas drops to near zero. That could flood the market with content and devalue entry-level creative jobs. Microsoft is under pressure to attach "Content Credentials" to AI-generated material to prove its origin, according to Associated Press.
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