Mouse & keyboards will become alien: Microsoft plans to change the way you use computers with new operating system

Microsoft has released a new video teasing its "Windows 2030 Vision," the first in a series expected to be published in the coming days. The video indicates significant changes to the Windows operating system over the next five years, with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI) integration. David Weston, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of Enterprise & Security, features in the video, hinting at a new desktop user experience enabled by agentic AI designed to act on users’ behalf.

Windows 2030 vision and AI integration

In the video, Weston states, “I truly believe the future version of Windows and other Microsoft operating systems will interact in a multimodal 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.” He adds that traditional input methods like mouse and keyboard “will feel as alien as it does to Gen Z [using] MS-DOS.”

While details remain limited, Weston’s remarks suggest a future where AI is deeply embedded in the operating system, allowing users to interact through natural language and multiple input modes, with AI managing workflows and tasks.

Shift toward AI as an operating system agent

Previously, Microsoft has outlined a vision where AI operates inside, beside, and outside applications. At Build 2023, Steven Bathiche described AI as an active part of Windows that can manage apps, files, and tasks through voice and natural language input. This represents a shift from current AI tools that are primarily standalone or embedded within apps to AI functioning at the OS level as an agent handling complex workflows.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has similarly indicated that AI will transform operating systems and user interfaces. At the 2023 Snapdragon Summit, he remarked that AI “will fundamentally change what an operating system is, what a UI looks like, and how application interaction goes,” reinforcing the company’s direction toward integrating AI more deeply into Windows.

The video signals Microsoft’s intention to redefine the Windows user experience by 2030 through advanced AI capabilities, though specific features and timelines remain to be disclosed in future updates.

(With inputs from TOI)