Microsoft Says AI Is An ‘Opportunity For Humans To Become More Human’ And Replace Mundane Work

The following report is by TechRadar Pro:

Although now a popular sight in workplaces (with research claiming many of us have already tested it out) the number of workers use Artificial Intelligence in their daily lives remains small – at least for the time being. The buzz around AI is unavoidable, and most of us think it could make our lives easier, so how do we make that happen?

It’s undoubtedly here to stay, but more businesses need to embrace AI to see its value. Or at least, that’s what Microsoft thinks.

TechRadar Pro spoke to Rob Smithson, Microsoft’s UK Business Applications Lead, to hear about how AI will affect the job market of tomorrow.

Motivate And Incentivize

“There’s great opportunity for small businesses and it’s not beyond them to be able to afford the products that enable them to sort of keep up, or even take a step ahead of their competitors that don’t have the best,” Smithson says, noting how AI can be used by businesses of any size to reduce workloads and streamline processes.

Microsoft is keen to market AI as a great leveller, particularly for smaller businesses who perhaps don’t have the resources to employ big teams; for example, in designing and programming HR workflows,

“Get the AI to do a lot of that manual programming,” Smithson notes. “So not only does it require a lot less effort from that team, but that team can then spend their time elsewhere in the projects or the project ends up being shorter, potentially better value for the customer.”

Evolved, Not Eliminated

That doesn’t necessarily mean a loss of jobs, Smithson says, but rather an evolution. In the Microsoft vision, workers who handle the more menial stuff, data entry, for example, will simply shift into a more ‘value add’ position, such as data analysis.

And I think humans love human interaction, don’t they? They love to feel like they got an answer from a human, and that they can trust what they hear.

I personally see it as a great opportunity for humans to become almost more human and AI to take away a lot of that time-wasting activity that humans have put their resources into traditionally.

Microsoft isn’t alone in this way of thinking, with recent analysis from 3M showing that 40% believe that AI will free up their time by taking care of menial tasks, allowing them to be more productive.

There’s a flip side to this, of course, with over a third of IT workers concerned generative AI could replace their jobs in the next five years.

But Microsoft sees this as an opportunity, for IT leaders especially, to add a ‘significant amount of value to themselves’ by getting on the front foot and ensuring they fully understand AI and how it can be implemented in their business.

By positioning themselves as the AI experts, IT leaders can seize the opportunity that AI presents, rather than fall victim to the takeover, Smithson says.

Microsoft pointed to some success stories, with large businesses like Virgin Atlantic reporting productivity gains, as much as 70-80% after they adopted Microsoft’s Copilot and GitHub copilot software.

The takeaway from the conversation is that AI will have an impact on how we work, and for a lot of us it’s already doing so. Microsoft is certainly optimistic about the future of the tech, and the opportunities will become clear in the coming months and years.

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AUTHOR COMMENTARY

Smithson is parroting the words of what the World Economic Forum has said smart city life will be like by 2030. The WEF once wrote in an essay:

Shopping? I can’t really remember what that is. For most of us, it has been turned into choosing things to use. Sometimes I find this fun, and sometimes I just want the algorithm to do it for me. It knows my taste better than I do by now.

When AI and robots took over so much of our work, we suddenly had time to eat well, sleep well and spend time with other people. The concept of rush hour makes no sense anymore, since the work that we do can be done at any time. I don’t really know if I would call it work anymore. It is more like thinking-time, creation-time and development-time.

For a while, everything was turned into entertainment and people did not want to bother themselves with difficult issues. It was only at the last minute that we found out how to use all these new technologies for better purposes than just killing time.

All this will do is increase vanity and laziness. We have been DESTROYED by our trough of excess and abundance, and it has destroyed us. With more AI and robotics taking over, it will put these things on steroids and can create an even more miserable life.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. [11] When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?

Proverbs 13:4 The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.

And once again, I must continue to refute the ruse that AI will not replace work: it absolutely will, and the poverty it will create will be detrimental.

SEE: World Economic Forum Forecasts 83 Million Jobs Will Disappear By 2027 Because Of AI And Advanced Technologies

International Monetary Fund Warns That 60% Of Jobs Will Be Affected By AI, Mostly Replaced

AI Is Set To Replace Multimillions Of Jobs According To New Surveys And Forecasts

OpenAI Launches Project ‘Strawberry’ Model That Revolutionizes Coding, But Experts Warn This Might Be The Nail In The Coffin For Coders

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[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).

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