Microsoft’s library of books is so heavy that it once caused a campus building to sink, according to an unproven legend among employees. Now those physical books, journals, and reports, and many of Microsoft’s digital subscriptions to leading US newspapers, are disappearing in a shift described inside Microsoft as an “AI-powered learning experience.”
Microsoft started cutting back on its employee subscriptions to news and reports services in November, with some publishers receiving an automated email cancellation of a contract. “This correspondence serves as official notification that Microsoft will not renew any existing contracts upon their respective expiration dates,” reads an email from Microsoft’s vendor management team. “We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation for your partnership, collaboration, and continued support throughout our engagement.”
Strategic News Service (SNS), which has provided global reports to Microsoft’s roughly 220,000 employees and executives for more than 20 years, is no longer part of Microsoft’s subscription list. In an email to Microsoft employees that relied on SNS reports, the publisher notes that “Microsoft has just released an automated announcement that all library contracts, of which the SNS Global Report is perhaps the most strategic for your own use, are to be turned off.”
Microsoft employees I’ve spoken to recently have lost access to digital publications like The Information. They’re also unable to perform digital checkouts of business books from the Microsoft Library. While Microsoft often rotates the publishers it uses in its Library service, this time it’s part of a much broader change that seems like corporate cost cutting mixed with the continued push for AI.
In an internal FAQ about the changes, Microsoft notes that subscriptions aren’t being renewed as “part of Microsoft’s shift to a more modern, AI-powered learning experience through the Skilling Hub.” This means the physical library space is changing, too. “The Library closed as part of Microsoft’s move toward a more modern, connected learning experience through the Skilling Hub,” notes the FAQ. “We know this change affects a space many people valued.”
It’s not clear what Microsoft intends to do with the old library space in Building 92, though this wasn’t its original home. The library was previously part of a now-demolished area of Microsoft’s Redmond campus, on the second floor of Building 4. Its location, above the ground floor cafeteria, is what created that legend about the heavy books damaging that building. “The weight of the books took their toll on Building 4,” said veteran Windows developer Raymond Chen in a 2020 blog entry. “Some people say that the building was sinking. Maybe. But everyone agreed that the pillars in the underground parking were starting to crack.”
Microsoft is now in the middle of transitioning from its library to whatever this “AI-powered learning experience” is. I understand the company will maintain some digital subscriptions, but it’s 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’s changes, but I didn’t get any responses in time for publication.
Most publishers won’t be keen to discuss losing corporate contracts or subscriptions, but SNS didn’t hold back on its thoughts about Microsoft’s AI-powered learning future. “Technology’s future is shaped by flows of power, money, innovation, and people — none of which are predictable based on LLMs’ probabilistic regurgitation of old information,” says Berit Anderson, chief operating officer of Strategic News Service. “We look forward to welcoming Microsoft back into the SNS community whenever they decide they would like to return.”
The pad
UK police blame Microsoft Copilot for intelligence mistake. One of Britain’s 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 “social media scraping” or a Google search result, before One of Britain’s 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 “social media scraping” or a Google search result, before admitting AI had been used in the report . It’s not clear what version of Copilot the West Midlands Police were using, but it’s alarming to see a police force rely on AI alone for its intelligence reports instead of fact-checking the output. Microsoft says it hasn’t been able to replicate what is being reported and makes it clear people should review the sources that Copilot uses.
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