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The 25th Fortune World’s Most Admired Companies list suggests that tech giants’ peers respect them as much as ever.

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The 300 companies on this list are transforming industries from the inside out.

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Microsoft | 2023 America's Most Innovative Companies

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Kinsey Crowley

These women could be the next Fortune 500 CEOs 

/2023/06/09/these-women-could-be-the-next-fortune-500-ceos/

Lucy Brewster

As A.I. stocks soar, here’s what top investors like Ray Dalio, Dawn Fitzpatrick, and Stan Druckenmiller think of their prospects

/2023/06/08/ai-investing-ray-dalio-top-investors-outlook/

Jeremy Kahn

Why OpenAI’s latest breakthrough to make ChatGPT safer is actually a step away from the A.I. we want

/2023/06/06/openai-chatgpt-llm-training-rlhf-process-supervision-alphago-move37-eye-on-a-i/

The Associated Press

Microsoft will pay $20 million to settle U.S. FTC charges that it illegally collected kids’ data

/2023/06/06/microsoft-pay-20-million-settle-ftc-charges-illegally-collected-kids-data/

Sumit Chauhan, Corporate Vice President, Office Product Group, Microsoft 
Dr. Lisa Costa, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, US Space Force 
Moderator: Amber Burton, FORTUNE 

MPW Next Gen 2023 - Generative A.I. And The Promise Of Productivity 

Conferences

Sumit Chauhan, Corporate Vice President, Office Product Group, Microsoft 
Dr. Lisa Costa, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, US Space Force 

Generative A.I. And The Promise Of Productivity

Sumit Chauhan, Corporate Vice President, Office Product Group, Microsoft 
Dr. Lisa Costa, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, US Space Force 
Moderator: Amber Burton, FORTUNE 


Developers combined 2,000 hours of Caryn Marjorie's YouTube content with OpenAI's GPT-4 to create a "virtual girlfriend" version of the influencer.

This influencer will be your A.I. girlfriend for $1 a minute

Tech

Watch: This influencer will be your A.I. girlfriend for $1 a minute

Welcome to, let's discuss where we talk about the hottest topics in news in two minutes or less. I'm joined by my colleague Alexei Oreskovic and we are going to talk about something I'm really excited about, which is this story I've been working on, on a social media influencer who has been turned into an A I girlfriend using 2000 hours of her video content and the capabilities of open A I. This is going to be available to users on the app telegram in both voice and text. Wow. So Alex, this is really fascinating and you've actually played around with this. I mean, how good actually is it? Are we talking? Is it just like Siri basically or is it more like you know her, like the science fiction movie, I'd say somewhere in the middle, she can do a whole lot of stuff from um counseling on family relationships to suggesting recipes and being an emotional companion. Since chat GP T came out, we've seen a lot of chat bots uh in kind of a search context. Microsoft Bing introduced it. Google is doing it with, but they, they try to make clear that they're not really human people, they're just, you know, kind of like, it's another tool whereas here, um it seems like they, they're kind of like pushing the envelope, not necessarily in the capability, the technical capability, but just in terms of the kind of like how they're presenting it as a virtual girlfriend that you're supposed to confide in. And, and of course, that raises all sorts of ethical questions. If you have a relationship with this person, can you have a normal relationship in real life? Uh, is it like cheating if you're having a relationship with, uh, this virtual girlfriend and you're married? No. What, what do you think, or what have you found, Alex? Um, I've talked to a number of experts on this. I think the jury is out on a lot of it just because we haven't exactly seen how this technology works, um, in the long term. But I'd say, you know, you could break it down into buckets that are, uh, ethical concerns with data, with the influencer herself. Um, and then with the technology and its capabilities. So, like how much does it actually cost to use this, uh, this product? It's a dollar a minute for a voice response and then 60 cents for a text. Oh, wow. Ok. That's a pretty penny. Yes, it is. And that is all we have time for, for more. Let's discuss. Head to fortune dot com.

<p>I've had many jobs in my life and I got to say that that designing Lego models is definitely by far the best. You really can build anything with these little bricks. I'm Eric Hunter. I'm 53 years old. I'm a professional LEGO artist. Welcome to the art of LEGO. This is my kitchen and here are a few portraits I've designed out of LEGO. This is a mosaic of penny, my roommate. And down here, here's one of me, this is my studio as well. Back here, this whole first floor is one giant room that's been converted into several smaller areas. I actually sleep here. We've got the dining room and then back here is where all the fun happens. This is where I I I store my office right next to my living room. Actually, more like in my living room, I've had models in the 10,000, 90,000 range. And now just last week, I got my biggest commission to date. Actually, a six figure budget. This is the beginnings of a 1 to 1 scale 1968 Camaro S S for the estimate I calculated 245,000 Lego bricks to complete this model. Most of my clients models would probably fall in the between, I'd say 1200 to $3000 range. The budget doesn't have to be that large. If you can make a car this big or you know, as big as you want anything, it's all about scale and then about detail, thousands. As far as how the money is spent, I have three different rates. You of course have to buy the Lego and I have design time and then I have build time and miscellaneous time, which is basically buying organizing and shipping time. I've actually returned money to a client because it didn't cost as much as I thought it was. I'm not here to get rich, you know, I'm here to do what I love this tiny little walkie talkie piece is now usable as an actual walkie talkie human size. What I love about my job is seeing the final model. I love to see it to hold it. It's tangible and then it's done. I don't have to work on it, believe it or not. When I am not working, I will build a Lego set to relax. I like to look at the instructions and flip through the pages and build the model that somebody else designed. Takes the pressure off me. The most challenging thing with working with LEGO models is lighting every brick has a tiny little hair space in between it and it becomes a real challenge to have a fully lit model look good. I think a car is, is definitely the most popular. Just my freelance since 2013, I'd say I've designed between cars and trucks. Probably 2025 different different vehicles. I think people love their cars and they want to immortalize them on their desk. Now, I have a potential client. They want a model of a truck. I ask them to make model in the year, what color they want? After a client has ordered a model, I'll go and digitally design the model in the computer. I usually use a program called LEGO Digital designer. It's a free program by LEGO. After you design the model in there, you can basically rebuild it piece by piece. Once it is approved, I will then go and order the lego. I order from brick link, brick link is basically like ebay for lego. It's anything lego you need. It's new lego or lego. Here in my studio. I personally chose to not keep too much LEGO on hand. I order LEGO as needed for each project as I go and each project ends up with a little over and slowly builds my collection. As everybody knows, storing lego can be a challenge. I choose open top bins and bin cups. I use some like tackle box and tiny drawer storage as well. The building is the fun part. Of course, I glue the models I use methyl ethyl ketone, which is actually any K for short and it's, it's a solvent, it melts the Lego together. It doesn't really glue it together. It's pretty impermeable and very durable. So a model should pretty much last forever. I use many different tools. You name it. I mean, I use belt Sanders, drill presses, planers, Lego rulers. This ruler is a vertical ruler. This ruler is for horizontal measuring. I use glue clamps, I use anything industrial. It really depends on the model on the inside of many of the Lego models I design. There will be infrastructures, there might be a steel frame, there might be access panels, mounting points. But the trick is, it's all on the inside. It's pretty much hidden away the tool that I use most here. Good old mallet, save my fingertips. I have been going with Lego since I was, I would say four years old. This is a book that really inspired me to get more into LEGO as an adult in the back. It shows a picture, a picture that was really inspirational to me. It shows a group of ladies actually who are all the model designers for Lego land in Denmark. They were only accepting creative resumes. And I thought, well, I found a product, what product might I be? And rice crispies? Was it because Eric and Rice, this was a perfect fit. I got a job at Legoland California back in 2005 as an associate, a model associate. It was a dream come true for me. Within about a year's time, I went from associate to designer. At that point, I started designing buildings for Miniland and doing life size sculptures of people and anything else. Legoland Parks might need the tallest Lego model. I was a part of was the Lego Land, Malaysia Petronas Towers model which took about six months. I had 1000 an hour budget to design that I was then responsible for managing and guiding the team to build it. At one point, I believe we had 23 or 24 people in the model shop all working on the same project. I think we ordered 100 and 20,000 Lego one by two pieces for the windows. The final model ended up being just under 33 ft tall for about a four year period. I believe it was the world's tallest Miniland structure. So I actually had a world record. Unofficially after I left Legoland in 2013, I decided to start a Lego design company. My friend Penny, who was actually my roommate in college way back in the late eighties. She said, hey, why don't you come out to Connecticut? I found this really unique place that used to be a mechanic shop for a buick dealership. And it is now my home and my Lego studio. Since I started my company, I have made, I would say upwards of 400 LEGO models for, for clients. Some of my corporate clients have included names like Microsoft New York Life. My latest is Children's Hospital. They really enjoy adding LEGO into their, their world. Back in 2013, it was a one man operation as it is again today. At one point I had eight employees. I really do enjoy being a one man operation because it allows me full control, but it's very limiting. Ultimately, I see growing my company into having a model shop with several employees full time, constantly building all of the designs that I am designing. And of course, I'd help build too when and if I could, I kind of see a little young Richard Nixon in here. So this is actually Pee-wee Nixon.</p>

Eric Hunter is a professional Lego artist who designs and builds Lego models for private and corporate clients, including Microsoft, New York Life, and Children’s Hospital. Before starting his own company, The Art of LeGogh, in 2014, he worked as a model designer at Legoland California Resort for eight years. 

How I make a living as a professional Lego builder

Features

Eric Hunter, owner of The Art of LeGogh, designs and builds Lego models professionally for clients, such as Microsoft, New York Life, and Children’s Hospital.

Eric Hunter is a professional Lego artist and owner of The Art of LeGogh, under which he designs and builds Lego models for private and corporate clients, including Microsoft, New York Life, and Children’s Hospital.

Eric Hunter is a professional Lego artist and owner of The Art of LeGogh. He designs and builds Lego models for clients, such as Microsoft, New York Life, and Children’s Hospital.

I've had many jobs in my life and I got to say that that designing Lego models is definitely by far the best. You really can build anything with these little bricks. I'm Eric Hunter. I'm 53 years old. I'm a professional LEGO artist. Welcome to the art of LEGO. This is my kitchen and here are a few portraits I've designed at a LEGO. This is a mosaic of penny, my roommate. And down here, here's one of me, this is my studio as well. Back here, this whole first floor is one giant room that's been converted into several smaller areas. I actually sleep here. We've got the dining room and then back here is where all the fun happens. This is where I I I store my office right next to my living room. Actually, more like in my living room, I've had models in the 10,000, 90,000 range. And now just last week, I got my biggest commission to date. Actually, a six figure budget. This is the beginnings of a 1 to 1 scale 1968 Camaro S S for the estimate I calculated 245,000 Lego bricks to complete this model. Most of my clients models would probably fall in the between, I'd say 1200 to $3000 range. The budget doesn't have to be that large. If you can make a car this big or you know, as big as you want anything, it's all about scale and then about detail, thousands. As far as how the money is spent, I have three different rates. You of course have to buy the Lego and I have design time and then I have build time and miscellaneous time, which is basically buying organizing and shipping time. I've actually returned money to a client because it didn't cost as much as I thought it was. I'm not here to get rich, you know, I'm here to do what I love this tiny little walkie talkie piece is now usable as an actual walkie talkie human size. What I love about my job is seeing the final model. I love to see it to hold it. It's tangible and then it's done. I don't have to work on it, believe it or not. When I am not working, I will build a Lego set to relax. I like to look at the instructions and flip through the pages and build the model that somebody else designed. Takes the pressure off me. The most challenging thing with working with LEGO models is lighting every brick has a tiny little hair space in between it and it becomes a real challenge to have a fully lit model look good. I think a car is, is definitely the most popular. Just my freelance since 2013, I'd say I've designed between cars and trucks. Probably 2025 different different vehicles. I think people love their cars and they want to immortalize them on their desk. Now, I have a potential client. They want a model of a truck. I ask them to make model in the year, what color they want? After a client has ordered a model, I'll go and digitally design the model in the computer. I usually use a program called LEGO Digital designer. It's a free program by LEGO. After you design the model in there, you can basically rebuild it piece by piece. Once it is approved, I will then go and order the lego. I order from brick link, brick link is basically like ebay for lego. It's anything lego you need. It's new lego or lego. Here in my studio. I personally chose to not keep too much LEGO on hand. I order LEGO as needed for each project as I go and each project ends up with a little over and slowly builds my collection. As everybody knows, storing lego can be a challenge. I choose open top bins and bin cups. I use some like tackle box and tiny drawer storage as well. The building is the fun part. Of course, I glue the models I use methyl ethyl ketone, which is actually any K for short and it's, it's a solvent, it melts the Lego together. It doesn't really glue it together. It's pretty impermeable and very durable. So a model should pretty much last forever. I use many different tools. You name it. I mean, I use belt Sanders, drill presses, planers, Lego rulers. This ruler is a vertical ruler. This ruler is for horizontal measuring. I use glue clamps, I use anything industrial. It really depends on the model on the inside of many of the Lego models I design. There will be infrastructures, there might be a steel frame, there might be access panels, mounting points. But the trick is, it's all on the inside. It's pretty much hidden away the tool that I use most here. Good old mallet, save my fingertips. I have been going with Lego since I was, I would say four years old. This is a book that really inspired me to get more into LEGO as an adult in the back. It shows a picture, a picture that was really inspirational to me. It shows a group of ladies actually who are all the model designers for Lego land in Denmark. They were only accepting creative resumes. And I thought, well, I found a product, what product might I be? And rice crispies? Was it because Eric and Rice, this was a perfect fit. I got a job at Legoland California back in 2005 as an associate, a model associate. It was a dream come true for me. Within about a year's time, I went from associate to designer. At that point, I started designing buildings for Miniland and doing life size sculptures of people and anything else. Legoland Parks might need the tallest Lego model. I was a part of was the Lego Land, Malaysia Petronas Towers model which took about six months. I had 1000 an hour budget to design that I was then responsible for managing and guiding the team to build it. At one point, I believe we had 23 or 24 people in the model shop all working on the same project. I think we ordered 100 and 20,000 Lego one by two pieces for the windows. The final model ended up being just under 33 ft tall for about a four year period. I believe it was the world's tallest Miniland structure. So I actually had a world record. Unofficially after I left Legoland in 2013, I decided to start a Lego design company. My friend Penny, who was actually my roommate in college way back in the late eighties. She said, hey, why don't you come out to Connecticut? I found this really unique place that used to be a mechanic shop for a buick dealership. And it is now my home and my Lego studio. Since I started my company, I have made, I would say upwards of 400 LEGO models for, for clients. Some of my corporate clients have included names like Microsoft New York Life. My latest is Children's Hospital. They really enjoy adding LEGO into their, their world. Back in 2013, it was a one man operation as it is again today. At one point I had eight employees. I really do enjoy being a one man operation because it allows me full control, but it's very limiting. Ultimately, I see growing my company into having a model shop with several employees full time, constantly building all of the designs that I am designing. And of course, I'd help build too when and if I could, I kind of see a little young Richard Nixon in here. So this is actually P Nixon.

Microsoft's Satya Nadella, actor Idris Elba and others discuss the economy, workforce and technological challenges and changes in the world. 

Davos 2023 highlights: World leaders talk economy, environment and more

Environment

Davos 2023: Leaders Tackle Social and Economic Challenges

World Leaders at Davos Tackle Social and Economic Challenges

But let's let's be frank, it's taken decades for corporate for governments to understand for economies to be built to last. We need to empower the use, we need social equity, we need to protect our environment today is well recognized that economic, social and natural well being of our planet are completely insulated and Davos may be one of the first platforms to get it. There's a psychologist, jean Twenge who studies generational differences and she says a lot of what you think is is a generational trend is actually an age difference because we're confounding the two. When we look at generational differences. Is it because you're a millennial or a gen z or is it because you're 23? Um and overwhelmingly um what we see is that people want the same things out of work from every generation. Um That if you see entitlement in a young workforce, guess what? Um you were entitled at that age to, you were just a little bit sneakier about it. Quite frankly. We, in the tech industry will also have to get efficient right, it's not about everyone else doing more with less. We will have to do more with less. So we will have to show our own productivity gains with our own sort of technology. And then coming out of this cycle though clouds, I do believe that as a percentage of GDP to expand by definition will increase and not because it should just increase, it will increase because of its contribution to the all of G. D. P. Growth. So that's sort of how I view, I think what's happening in our industry, our business model challenges, but more importantly, what I think are the economic challenges in the world. But the road to Net zero means developing and using a whole range of new clean technologies across our economy, in transport, in buildings, in manufacturing, in energy the next decade, we'll see the greatest industrial transformation of our time, maybe of any time.

Microsoft

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