Microsoft is now in the middle of transitioning from its library to whatever this \u201cAI-powered learning experience\u201d is. I understand the company will maintain some digital subscriptions, but it\u2019s not yet clear which ones will remain after this transition period is complete. I reached out to The Financial Times, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal to comment on Microsoft\u2019s changes, but I didn\u2019t get any responses in time for publication.<\/p>\n
Most publishers won\u2019t be keen to discuss losing corporate contracts or subscriptions, but SNS didn\u2019t hold back on its thoughts about Microsoft\u2019s AI-powered learning future. \u201cTechnology\u2019s future is shaped by flows of power, money, innovation, and people \u2014 none of which are predictable based on LLMs\u2019 probabilistic regurgitation of old information,\u201d says Berit Anderson, chief operating officer of Strategic News Service. \u201cWe look forward to welcoming Microsoft back into the SNS community whenever they decide they would like to return.\u201d<\/p>\n
UK police blame Microsoft Copilot for intelligence mistake. One of Britain\u2019s largest police forces has admitted that it made a mistake in an intelligence report after using Copilot to search for information. The report, which led to Israeli football (soccer) fans being banned from a match last year, included a nonexistent match between West Ham and Maccabi Tel Aviv. The West Midlands Police initially blamed the mistake on \u201csocial media scraping\u201d or a Google search result, before admitting AI had been used in the report<\/a>. It\u2019s not clear what version of Copilot the West Midlands Police were using, but it\u2019s alarming to see a police force rely on AI alone for its intelligence reports instead of fact-checking the output. Microsoft says it hasn\u2019t been able to replicate what is being reported and makes it clear people should review the sources that Copilot uses.Microsoft scrambles to quell fury around its new AI data centers. Microsoft announced a five-point plan this week that it calls \u201cCommunity-First AI Infrastructure.\u201d It includes paying more to try and prevent data center energy demands from raising people\u2019s electricity bills, minimizing water use, training workers and creating jobs, and contributing to local taxes near its data centers. Microsoft\u2019s plan is a response<\/a> to a surge of opposition against data center projects, where some communities have pushed developers to cancel or delay projects.PC shipments just grew unexpectedly amid RAM shortages. Last week I outlined why 2026 is going to be a volatile year for the PC market, but 2025 ended well for PC makers. IDC reports that PC shipments grew 10 percent year-over-year<\/a> in the fourth quarter of 2025. While the end of Windows 10 support will have helped push that number up, IDC notes that PC makers have also been aggressively pulling forward inventory to combat potential tariffs and the global memory shortage. Consumers and businesses are now bracing for more price rises, especially in the second part of 2026 once RAM stockpiles start running low.Microsoft is retiring its Office Lens app on iOS and Android. Microsoft first launched its Lens scanner app on iOS and Android in 2015, with the ability to take a photo of a document or a whiteboard and have it properly cropped and converted into a Word or PDF document. It\u2019s now being retired<\/a> because the same functionality is included in the OneDrive app. The Lens scanner app won\u2019t be functional after March 9th, so you\u2019ll either have to use OneDrive or find another solution to any document scanning needs.Trump\u2019s fundraisers asked Microsoft for its White House ballroom donation. The Trump administration approached Microsoft for its donation to fund the White House\u2019s $300 million ballroom, according to documents released this week<\/a>. Microsoft attended a dinner held for supporters of the ballroom project and confirmed it donated to the Trust for the National Mall in September. \u201cMicrosoft understands that these funds (along with contributions from other donors) will be used to support the construction of the ballroom,\u201d says Microsoft counsel Karen Christian.Microsoft is making it much easier to add hyperlinks in Word docs. Microsoft is making it a lot faster and easier to add links to text inside Word documents. Instead of having to open a menu item to insert a link or use the CTRL + K keyboard shortcut, you can now simply paste a link on top of the text you want to hyperlink<\/a>. This matches what\u2019s commonly found in modern content management systems and text editors, and it\u2019s rolling out to Word on the web, Windows, and Mac.Microsoft\u2019s shutting down Word\u2019s built-in Send to Kindle feature. In early February, Microsoft will discontinue support for a button inside Microsoft Word<\/a> that lets users send documents to devices like the Kindle Scribe. You\u2019ll still be able to send Word documents to your Kindle, but you\u2019ll need to use Amazon\u2019s official tool instead.Microsoft might have just leaked Forza Horizon 6\u2019s release date. Microsoft is preparing to show the first gameplay of Forza Horizon 6 next week, and it looks like we\u2019ll also get a release date for the game. An X poster claims to have seen a pop-up inside Forza Horizon 5 that promotes preorder information for Forza Horizon 6<\/a>. I haven\u2019t been able to reproduce the pop-up, and I haven\u2019t seen additional reports of others seeing it, but it mentions a May 19th release date. That aligns with sources telling me that Forza Horizon 6 is due in the month of May. I wouldn\u2019t expect to see Playground Games\u2019 other title, Fable, until later this year, though.Microsoft will put buy buttons directly in Copilot. Microsoft is letting Copilot users make purchases directly inside the AI chatbot. If you start asking for suggestions about clothing or sneakers, Copilot can surface a checkout option<\/a> to let you purchase items inside the app. OpenAI launched a similar checkout feature inside ChatGPT recently, and Microsoft is working with retailers like Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Ashley Furniture, and some Etsy sellers.Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon are paying up for \u201centerprise\u201d access to Wikipedia. Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Perplexity, and Mistral AI have joined Google in paying the Wikimedia Foundation for access to Wikipedia\u2019s collection of articles. The partnership includes API access that is \u201ctuned\u201d for commercial use and AI companies. This type of access will allow Microsoft to improve its Copilot responses, and the Wikimedia Foundation will also build features for its enterprise customers and \u201ctry to structure the data in ways that support what these companies\u2019 needs are.\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019m always keen to hear from readers, so please drop a comment here, or you can reach me at notepad@theverge.com<\/a> if you want to discuss anything else. If you\u2019ve heard about any of Microsoft\u2019s secret projects, you can reach me via email at notepad@theverge.com<\/a> or speak to me confidentially on the Signal messaging app, where I\u2019m tomwarren.01<\/a>. 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