Microsoft launches .NET libraries Microsoft.Extensions.AI for AI Development

2024/10/09

Today, Microsoft unveiled the preview version of Microsoft.Extensions.AI, a collection of essential. NET libraries aimed at simplifying AI application development for developers. This innovative suite offers a streamlined API abstraction for various AI services, including small language models (SLMs), large language models (LLMs), embeddings, and middleware. Furthermore, it delivers standardized solutions for common functionalities such as caching, telemetry, and tool invocation.

During this preview phase, reference implementations are available for services like OpenAI, Azure AI Inference, and Ollama. Microsoft emphasizes several key advantages of Microsoft.Extensions.AI:

Unified API: Provides a cohesive set of APIs and conventions for seamlessly integrating AI services into. NET applications.

Flexibility: Enables. NET library creators to leverage AI services without committing to a single provider, promoting adaptability across different platforms.

Ease of Use: Allows. NET developers to test various packages while using consistent underlying abstractions, ensuring a unified API experience in their applications.

Componentization: Eases the introduction of new features and enhances the componentization and testing processes for applications.

You can access the Microsoft.Extensions.AI packages through the following links:

Developers of libraries are encouraged to implement the Microsoft.Extensions.AI interfaces within their own libraries, which facilitates easy integration of their NuGet packages via the provided abstractions. These libraries can effectively utilize the new features, avoiding hardcoded dependencies on specific AI services, thereby granting end developers the freedom to select their desired service. Furthermore, application developers can utilize these abstractions for more straightforward integration into their projects, ensuring cross-model and service compatibility.

Microsoft expects the Microsoft.Extensions.AI library to remain in its preview state until the. NET 9 release. The team behind Microsoft.Extensions.AI intends to partner with Semantic Kernel to weave Microsoft.Extensions.AI into its foundational framework.

As a promising enhancement to the. NET ecosystem, Microsoft.Extensions.AI empowers developers to create AI-driven applications with greater efficiency. Its emphasis on flexibility and ease of use is likely to resonate positively with the developer community.

Source: Microsoft

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