Although it is now a popular view in the workplace (and research claims that many of us have already tried it), the number of workers using AI in their daily lives remains small, at least for the moment. The hype around AI is inevitable and most of us think it could make our lives easier, so how can we make that happen?
It's certainly here to stay, but more businesses need to embrace AI to see its value. Or at least that's what Microsoft thinks.
Motivate and incentivize
“There are great opportunities for small businesses and it's not out of reach for them to be able to afford products that will allow them to keep up, or even get a step ahead of their competitors who don't have the best,” says Smithson, noting how companies from Any size can use AI to reduce workloads and optimize processes.
Microsoft is interested in marketing AI as a great equalizer, particularly for smaller companies that may not have the resources to employ large teams; for example, in the design and programming of human resources workflows,
“Have AI do a lot of that manual programming,” Smithson says. “So, not only does it require a lot less effort on the part of that team, but that team can then spend their time elsewhere on the projects or the project ends up being shorter and potentially better value for the client.”
Evolved, not eliminated
That doesn't necessarily mean a loss of jobs, Smithson says, but rather an evolution. In Microsoft's vision, workers who handle more menial tasks, like data entry, for example, will simply move to a higher “value-added” position, such as data analysis.
“And I think humans love human interaction, right? “They love feeling like they got an answer from a human being and that they can trust what they hear.”
“Personally, I see it as a huge opportunity for humans to become almost more human and for AI to eliminate a lot of that time-wasting activity that humans have traditionally devoted their resources to.”
Microsoft is not alone in this thinking: a recent 3M analysis shows that 40% believe AI will free up their time by taking care of menial tasks, allowing them to be more productive.
Of course, there's a flip side to this, as more than a third of IT workers are concerned that generative AI could replace their jobs in the next five years.
But Microsoft sees this as an opportunity, especially for IT leaders, to add a “significant amount of value to themselves” by getting out in front and ensuring they fully understand AI and how it can be implemented in their businesses.
By positioning themselves as AI experts, IT leaders can take advantage of the opportunity that AI presents, rather than being victims of acquisition, Smithson says.
Microsoft pointed to some success stories, with large companies like Virgin Atlantic reporting productivity gains of up to 70-80% after adopting Microsoft's Copilot and GitHub Copilot software.
The conclusion of the conversation is that AI willpower It has an impact on the way we work, and many of us are already doing it. Microsoft is certainly optimistic about the future of technology and the opportunities will become evident in the coming months and years.