Wondering when AI will turn up at your work? Microsoft says look behind you
- Reference: 1715265908
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/05/09/microsoft_work_trend_index_ai/
- Source link:
According to the [1]report , 78 percent of workers are bringing their own AI tools, presumably because IT leaders prefer to hold back rather than board the hype train.
Indeed, more than half (59 percent) of leaders are concerned about quantifying the productivity gains of AI technology despite claims from companies such as Microsoft. That said, the report also noted that 79 percent of leaders agreed AI adoption is critical to remaining competitive. However, a cynic might wonder how much FOMO (fear of missing out) plays a part.
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Jared Spataro, Microsoft CVP for AI at Work, said: "While leaders feel the pressure to turn individual productivity gains into organizational impact, employees aren't waiting to reap the benefits: 78 percent of AI users are bringing their own AI tools to work."
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Spataro also noted that leaders "feel the pressure to show immediate Return on Investment (RoI)" from AI technologies. Considering the investments involved, not least the cost of rolling out [5]Copilot for Microsoft 365 , seeing at least a plan that has a pot of gold at the end of the AI rainbow seems reasonable. Even if that pot of gold is filled with the salaries of some employees made redundant by the tech.
[6]Windows Insiders to fly solo while Copilot rollout frozen
[7]More big city newspapers drag Microsoft, OpenAI hard in copyright lawsuit
[8]Copilot auto-launch bug now takes flight in multiple Windows Insider channels
[9]Microsoft claims it didn't mean to inject Copilot into Windows Server 2022 this week
The report is a far cry from Spataro's earlier [10]pronouncements on the matter, where Microsoft appeared to be suggesting that customers should temper their expectations and look more to the long term as the company's Copilot product line matures.
At March's Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom 2024 conference, Spataro told attendees: "People are definitely trying to understand, who should I get this for? Is this for everyone in my organization? Is this for a certain segment or population?"
He went on to admit that the $30 price tag for the tech was "substantial", and many customers are still at the proof of concept stage.
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Microsoft's report shows that employees are interested in AI technologies in the workplace, but it also highlights the concerns of leaders about signing off on what could be a substantial expense.
Spataro's seeming shift from acknowledging business worries to fueling a feeling of FOMO with the report is a clear indicator that Microsoft would like to see an RoI on its own Copilot spending sooner rather than later. ®
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[1] https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2024/05/08/microsoft-and-linkedin-release-the-2024-work-trend-index-on-the-state-of-ai-at-work/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZjzzIDUIzb-PPchRtKjzfwAAAMs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZjzzIDUIzb-PPchRtKjzfwAAAMs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZjzzIDUIzb-PPchRtKjzfwAAAMs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/03/microsoft_365_copilot/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/07/microsoft_copilot_windows_insiders/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/30/newspapers_microsoft_openai/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/22/windows_insider_copilot_bug/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/18/copilot_on_windows_server_2022/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/18/microsoft_copilot_moneymaker/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZjzzIDUIzb-PPchRtKjzfwAAAMs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Oh no it isn't!
Oh, yes it is.
"still trying to convince customers of benefits"
If you have to continue trying to convince, there probably aren't any significant benefits. For the general office, the whole thing sounds like a toy trying to find uses for itself. The danger is that the bullshit may get believed until it's too late to back out when it's seen to have been just that.
Re: "still trying to convince customers of benefits"
> it was still trying to convince customers of benefits
Why don't they simply use AI to do that? Huh?...
I've nothing against AI, I'm just still waiting for someone (anyone) to demonstrate a real practical use for it. So far the best I've seen have been nibbling around the edges, automating some repetitive tasks. I have yet to see a "killer app" that really demonstrates what it can do. That, and everything out today is about as much artificial intelligence as hoverboards actually hover. They're basically still just a big series of if/else loops, there's no real intelligence.
https://www.amazon.com/hoverboard/s?k=hoverboard
Still not convinced
Personally, as said above, it seems to have a few niche uses... but nothing that applies to most. It can sort of write code, sort of produce pictures... but if you're a sysadmin, then that's no use really.
I find it a bit cheeky that they want you to temper your expectations, when they're quite happy to charge you for something that isn't much use.
Much better to find a proper use (many I can think of), and then charge people... but no, they need your money now.
If you look at what the Humane Pin or Rabbit R1 are trying to do, I think we're on the edge of someone working out how to make it work for more people. We're just not there yet, and typing "write me some sql to..." in a box isn't really it.
Re: Still not convinced
Right now, more than anything else, it's a solution in the search of a problem. I suppose that one could use it to waste less time making a presentation for the suits to gobble up, but I wouldn't trust it with anything critical. I'd rather dig out my books on Bash or Perl if I have to write a script to automate some task than trust an "AI", unless it was something non-critical on a non-privileged account where any damage would be minimal and easily recovered from.
Weasel words of the year
> employees aren't waiting to reap the benefits: 78 percent of AI users are bringing their own AI tools to work.
Danger, Will Robinson! Never mind that "78 percent of AI users" actually means 2 people... The enemy is at the gates, buy our stuff, STAT!
"Microsoft says look behind you"
So it's going to be a bit of a pantomime?