Microsoft Word is getting an AI-powered editor that can recommend when users might want to make their writing more grammatically and politically correct.
The tool, called Ideas in Word, uses machine learning and Microsoft’s Graph developer platform to make suggestions when it senses users might want to ‘refine their writing.’
Ideas in Word, which is slated to launch this fall, was unveiled this week at Microsoft’s annual Build developer conference in Seattle.
A video preview of the tool shows how it works. Users will see a tab in the Microsoft Word toolbar called ‘Ideas,’ where its AI systems might suggest users make improvements to their writing.
It might suggest that users make improvements around clarity, conciseness, formality, inclusiveness, punctuation conventions, sensitive geopolitical references and vocabulary.
For example, Microsoft said its machine learning algorithms might suggest that users replace the word ‘policeman’ with ‘police officer,’ in an effort to be more inclusive.
Another example might involve its AI suggesting users write ‘person with a disability’ instead of ‘disabled person.’
For now, it’ll launch solely for users of Word Online, the cloud-based version of Microsoft’s word processing software.
‘Writing requires a dash of uniquely human creativity,’ Microsoft wrote in a blog post.
‘Artificial intelligence alone cannot do it for us, at least not very well. But AI can – and already is – helping us do things like make sure we spell words correctly and use correct grammar.
‘As the AI in these products is becoming more sophisticated, they are helping us do more than spot a misspelled word,’ the company added.
Additionally, the tool will help users make their documents more navigable by suggesting tables that might be easier to read.
The Ideas tab can also show the key points from a document, as well as explain acronyms.
It can even give users an approximation of how long it takes to read their document, should they be using it during a timed presentation at the office or in class.
Microsoft isn’t the only tech firm using AI to help users improve their writing.
Google in February launched a tool for Google Docs that uses ‘machine translation techniques’ to catch grammatical errors that users might otherwise miss.
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