May 1, 2024 3 min read

Microsoft Build 2024 Preview: What to Expect for AI

Microsoft Build 2024 is fast approaching (May 21-23), and the AI community is buzzing with anticipation. Based on recent trends and industry signals, here’s what we might expect from this year’s developer conference.

Expected AI Announcements

Azure OpenAI Service Updates

Microsoft has been rapidly expanding Azure OpenAI capabilities. We can expect:

New model deployments: Potentially GPT-4 improvements or new multimodal features
Regional expansion: More Azure regions getting OpenAI access
Enterprise features: Enhanced security, compliance, and monitoring

Current State: GPT-4 Turbo

While we wait for Build announcements, GPT-4 Turbo remains the flagship:

from openai import AzureOpenAI
import os

client = AzureOpenAI(
    api_version="2024-02-15-preview",
    azure_endpoint=os.environ["AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT"],
    api_key=os.environ["AZURE_OPENAI_KEY"]
)

# Current best practice with GPT-4 Turbo
response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-4-turbo",
    messages=[
        {"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant."},
        {"role": "user", "content": "Explain the significance of multimodal AI."}
    ]
)

print(response.choices[0].message.content)

Anticipated Trends

Multimodal AI Evolution

OpenAI has been hinting at more integrated multimodal experiences. Currently, we use separate endpoints:

# Current approach: GPT-4 Vision for images
def analyze_image(image_base64: str, prompt: str):
    response = client.chat.completions.create(
        model="gpt-4-vision-preview",
        messages=[
            {
                "role": "user",
                "content": [
                    {"type": "text", "text": prompt},
                    {
                        "type": "image_url",
                        "image_url": {
                            "url": f"data:image/png;base64,{image_base64}"
                        }
                    }
                ]
            }
        ],
        max_tokens=1000
    )
    return response.choices[0].message.content

Cost Optimization

With enterprise adoption growing, cost management becomes critical:

Current Model	Input Cost	Output Cost
GPT-4 Turbo	$10/1M tokens	$30/1M tokens
GPT-3.5 Turbo	$0.50/1M tokens	$1.50/1M tokens

Preparing for Build Announcements

Build Flexible Abstractions

class AzureOpenAIClient:
    """Abstraction layer for easy model upgrades"""

    def __init__(self, model: str = "gpt-4-turbo"):
        self.client = AzureOpenAI(
            api_version="2024-02-15-preview",
            azure_endpoint=os.environ["AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT"],
            api_key=os.environ["AZURE_OPENAI_KEY"]
        )
        self.model = model

    def chat(self, messages: list, **kwargs) -> str:
        response = self.client.chat.completions.create(
            model=self.model,
            messages=messages,
            **kwargs
        )
        return response.choices[0].message.content

    def upgrade_model(self, new_model: str):
        """Easy model upgrade when new versions release"""
        self.model = new_model
        print(f"Upgraded to {new_model}")

Integration with Azure Services

# Using with Azure AI Search for RAG
from azure.search.documents import SearchClient
from azure.core.credentials import AzureKeyCredential

search_client = SearchClient(
    endpoint=os.environ["SEARCH_ENDPOINT"],
    index_name="documents",
    credential=AzureKeyCredential(os.environ["SEARCH_KEY"])
)

# Search for relevant documents
results = search_client.search("quarterly revenue trends", top=5)
context = "\n".join([doc["content"] for doc in results])

# Use GPT-4 for analysis
response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-4-turbo",
    messages=[
        {"role": "system", "content": f"Use this context to answer questions:\n{context}"},
        {"role": "user", "content": "What are the key revenue trends?"}
    ]
)

What’s Coming

Over the Build conference (May 21-23), expect announcements around:

New model capabilities and performance improvements
Copilot integrations across Microsoft products
Developer tools and SDKs
Azure AI infrastructure updates

Conclusion

Build 2024 promises to be significant for AI developers. Prepare your infrastructure for model upgrades, and stay tuned for the official announcements. The AI landscape is evolving rapidly, and Microsoft continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible on Azure.