Springtime means it's keynote season in the tech world, and in 2024, that means "time to show off your AI bona fides." Google and OpenAI have already revealed big new upgrades to Gemini and ChatGPT this month, and now it's time for Microsoft Build. The tech giant's annual developer conference kicks off with a keynote slated for Tuesday, May 21 at 12 PM ET/9 AM PT, and you can watch the entire event live on YouTube (which is also embedded below) and at Microsoft's site (registration required). What about that Microsoft Surface event you may have heard about? Don't worry, here's the tl;dr version of what to expect, summarized from our more in-depth What to expect from Microsoft Build 2024: The Surface event, Windows 11 and AI.

If you can't tell by now, just about every tech company is eager to pray at the altar of AI, for better or worse. Google's recent I/O developer conference was dominated by AI features, like its seemingly life-like Project Astra assistant. Just before that, OpenAI debuted GPT 4o, a free and conversational AI model that's disturbingly flirty. Next up is Microsoft Build 2024, the company's developer conference that's kicking off next week in Seattle. Normally, Build is a fairly straightforward celebration of Microsoft's devotion to productivity, with a dash of on-stage coding to excite the developer crowd.

Microsoft, even without the usual face of its Surface announcements, had plenty to show off to the assembled media and industry guests yesterday. Unsurprisingly, it led with (and focused on) its latest AI developments. Its Copilot AI assistant is now graduating to assist with all things Windows 11, in an update coming September 26. It will appear in apps such as Edge, while browsing the internet, not to mention Microsoft 365 programs like Word and Excel. You activate Copilot with your voice or a right click and can use it for the sort of things you might not remember keyboard shortcuts for -- or just can't be bothered to do manually, like organize windows on your desktop, delete the backgrounds from photos or even generate a Spotify playlist.

Now it's Microsoft's turn to unveil some new hardware. This morning, we'll dig into our expectations for today's Surface event and check out an impressive new trailer from Red Dead Redemption 2. Then remember to check back after 4 PM ET for all the news from Microsoft as it's revealed. Dual-screen Surface?What Microsoft might unveil at its Surface event (and what it should) This afternoon, Microsoft will show off its next wave of devices at a New York City press gathering. But it's also the perfect opportunity for the company to show off something entirely new. Now that Microsoft has proved it can innovate, will it take even bigger chances?

The wizards at Microsoft have new hardware! They'll start unveiling at at 10 am Eastern, showing off what we hear is the next bit of Surface hardware and the next version of Windows 10. Microsoft will provide a live video stream, and we will liveblog it all. Because we love to liveblog! It's the best way to offer commentary and real-time analysis of all the announcements.