LG partners with Microsoft to transform work, life and play

From controlling your thermostat if your child has a cold to ordering you a coffee on your drive to work, LG has revealed how it is harnessing AI to transform our lives.

LG is partnering with Microsoft, incorporating the Seattle based tech titan’s Copilot artificial intelligence assistant in its TVs to “shape the future of AI-powered spaces” in people’s homes.

Televisions are forming the hubs for smart homes, with AI dominating CES – the world’s biggest consumer electronics show – in Las Vegas.

LG chief executive William Cho said “space was no longer a physical location” but an “environment where holistic experiences come to life across the home, mobility, commercial and even virtual space”.

He said three fundamental elements made this possible: connected devices, capable AI agents and integrated services.

“By transcending the boundaries of the online environment, it gives us an enormous opportunity to reshape the concept of space,” Mr Cho said.

LG's smart home AI agent robot can assist with daily tasks.

LG showcased at CES how this technology could operate at home, in the car and at work, with appliances being able to monitor people’s behaviour and change their settings, such as being able to raise the temperature in a child’s room overnight after it detected them coughing or play a favourite playlist during a celebration.

In the car, LG’s infotainment system could detect if a driver didn’t bring a cup of coffee with them on their way to work, and not only suggest the buy a coffee at a nearby favourite cafe but also order the drink.

The car could also monitor a driver’s vital signs, such as heart rate, and if it noticed a change like a sudden rise, ask if they were “sure they wanted that coffee”.

When the driver responded that they were just concerned about a presentation that morning at work, the car system asked the driver if it would like to play calming music.

“After dedicating years of efforts and resources, we have developed a very capable AI agent,” Mr Cho said.

“Now I’m excited to announce a strategic partnership with Microsoft, the global leader in AI innovation. Together, we are joining forces to shape the future of AI powered spaces.”

Microsoft and LG have been enhancing AI agents for various spaces, including homes, vehicles, hotels and offices. LG has been applying Microsoft voice recognition and speech synthesis technologies to its Self-Driving AI Home Hub, enabling it to understand diverse accents, pronunciations and colloquial expressions.

Microsoft has also partnered with Samsung to deliver more “intelligent and personalised experiences”, integrating Copilot across its new Smart TVs and Smart Monitors.

LG has unveiled new AI-powered TVs at CES in Las Vegas, with its latest models featuring Microsoft’s Copilot.

Mr Cho said the partnership will also aim to develop AI agents that not only understand and interact with customers but also predict their needs and preferences

Microsoft chief commercial officer Judson Althoff said “AI will fundamentally change the way we live and work”.

“By bringing together Microsoft’s advanced AI capabilities with LG’s leadership and consumer appliances and electronics, we are creating new possibilities for a more intelligent world and enabling more personalised experiences for millions of customers,” he said.

“Together, we are developing AI solutions that will reimagine customer engagement reshape business processes and bend the curve on innovation.”

LG chief executive William Cho.

The partnership will also involve Microsoft adopting LG’s thermal management systems and advanced chiller technologies in its AI data centres.

“As AI infrastructure becomes increasingly vital to enable innovation at speed and scale, LG and Microsoft have committed to making the next generation of AI data centres more efficient and sustainable by applying LG’s latest cooling solutions to Microsoft’s global data centre footprint,” Mr Althoff said.

LG vice president of sales and home appliances, Brandt Varner said: “we recognise the AI home cannot be realised by any one company alone”.

“To effectively connect every device, and service. We must work together through collaboration and partnerships so that we can all mutually benefit from this ecosystem.”

Mr Varner also acknowledged the security was a top concern among customers with smart appliances.

Hackers have infiltrated devices of some other brands, targeting baby monitors to spy on families, webcams have been hijacked to take down computer networks, and home thermostat settings have been raised to extreme levels.

“Now we fully understand the expanded connectivity and open API environment can lead to questions over security and privacy,” Mr Varner said.

“With LG Shield and on-device AI integrated into the home hubs and devices, every piece of personal data that is used to provide those seamless and proactive experiences will remain secure through multiple overlapping layers, protecting your data so that only you can benefit from it. That will always be our top priority.”

The author travelled to CES with assistance of Samsung, LG and Hisense.

Originally published as LG partners with Microsoft to transform work, life and play