Microsoft Power Apps

2021: GPT-3 Software Tool Support

At the end of May 2021, Microsoft officially introduced the first tool based on one of the most powerful natural language processing models GPT-3 from OpenAI. According to the creators, the tool will be integrated into the development platform with a minimum of programming Microsoft Power Apps. This allows you to create applications online, without deep knowledge of code or formulas, which will make development even easier and more accessible.

GPT-3 is the largest language AI model capable of generating text so similar to human one that it can be used to create believable fake news. Microsoft previously invested $1 billion in the development of OpenAI to get language technologies for its own use and for Azure customers.

Thanks to artificial intelligence, users will now be able to create applications in dialog mode. For example, when developing an application for e-commerce, to search for goods for children, it will be possible to describe in the dialogue the desired goal: "find products whose name begins with" children. "" The GPT-3 model will offer options for converting a text command into the formula Microsoft Power Fx, an open-source Power Platform programming language, for example, 'Filter (' BC Orders' Left ('Product Name', 4) = 'Kids') '. The principle of operation is similar to the search engine - the user formulates a query and receives in response a list of possible variants of formulas from which he can choose the most suitable one.

Microsoft released the first tool based on the "most powerful AI" for programming

Although Power Fx is based on Microsoft Excel and is therefore much more accessible to use than traditional programming languages, the formation of, for example, complex data queries can still require quite deep technical knowledge. Previously, it was already possible to create applications without knowing the code, but still needed an understanding of the logic of writing formulas. The use of natural language in the process of creating applications will significantly reduce the threshold for entering application development. At the same time, the innovation does not replace the need for a person to understand the code that he is introducing, but is aimed at helping people learning the Power Fx programming language and simplifying the choice of the right formulas to get the desired result.

GPT-3 works in the Microsoft Azure region, and for its additional training, the Azure Machine Learning service was used for the task.

In the future, Microsoft also plans to integrate the Power Fx language into other tools within Power Platform applications, so that the ability to use natural language based on GPT-3 will extend to these products.

The integration of the language model into Power Apps means that users will be able to offer the desired features of the application, and the platform will convert commands into Power Fx formulas. Microsoft states that this feature still "requires understanding the code from the programmer who implements it." However, this tool can provide valuable assistance to people who are not yet familiar with the Power Fx programming language or have just begun to learn it.

This is one of the first tools to show how GPT-3 can solve real business needs at the enterprise scale, the company said.[1]

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