Microsoft unveiled CoPilot last week, which combines generative AI with Office. I believe Co-Pilot is a technology that has as much ripple power as Windows in the past.
Advances in these technologies, as usual, affect employment, performance and the direction of work. The most important part of using tools like generative AI to make a difference in our lives is learning to use them responsibly.
A strong aspect of generative AI tools is their quantity. It allows you to do more in less time. People who focus on quality usually have to give up quantity. But now that AI tools can be used to increase production, we can do the best work in quality and quantity.
Conversely, people who do things quickly give up quality for speed, but in this area there is little room for synergy with AI. On the contrary, if only the quantity of poor quality output is increased, the result may deteriorate. In other words, generative AI tools will be very attractive to those who like “fast”, but keep in mind that in the end you should always focus on the quality of your work.
The case of Tesla
Tesla is a good example. Tesla, as a technology company, entered the automotive sector with a focus on automation and robots, but lacked traditional car manufacturing knowledge. As a result, he managed to produce an affordable electric car for the first time, but there was a problem of poor quality. Moreover, this problem was not solved in time and dragged on for a long time. Focusing on speed and cost containment, Tesla used automation and robotics, new technologies such as generative AI, but only increased production speed without improving quality.
Take the Jaguar in contrast. When Jaguar built its first F-Type in an automated factory, it hired a Mercedes expert to run the factory. Jaguar is a company that does not receive a good rating overall in terms of quality, but it received a very good rating when it comes to the quality of the F-Type. Indeed, the implementation of a high quality process has significantly reduced the related overall issues.
Technologies such as robotics and AI greatly speed up the process, but have the disadvantage of applying both good and bad practices. You can teach AI the difference between right and wrong methods, but AI can’t create high-quality production after all if managers don’t know how to implement high-quality products. In short, generative AI can be leveraged by those who know how to create high-quality deliverables to greatly augment advanced work. However, when people who sacrifice quality for quantity use generative AI, they only increase the production of poor quality work. The ending is usually bad.
Although Tesla eventually improved the quality of its products, it did not reap the initial benefit of being the sole electric car maker. Many of Tesla’s early buyers chose the Tesla as their first electric car after driving a luxury car like a Porsche. A tarnished reputation could have been avoided had Tesla focused on quality sooner.
Familiarize yourself with new tools to take advantage of the benefits of technology
Generative AI applied to Microsoft Office is brand new technology, but it’s surprisingly capable. It is growing at an almost unbelievable speed. ChatGPT (ChatGPT), which is the basis of CoPilot (the name that refers to Microsoft’s generative AI application), has already been released in its fourth generation. The applications are new, but the core technology is four generations old.
Office combined with AI is very high quality for a product that has just been released. In this respect, if these technologies produce poor quality results, the cause is probably the user. If employees aren’t able to quickly learn the pros and cons of these tools to produce high-quality results, management may need to step in and learn how to use them.
After generative AI tools hit the market, those most at risk will be those who misuse them. If you mass-produce low-quality results, the low proficiency of those users will become very apparent. On the other hand, those who understand what the tool does and use it at a higher level will stand out from their peers who are less adept at using it. If you use your tools correctly, not only will you survive these waves of technology, but you’ll also be able to stay ahead of the game.
Copilot for PowerPoint
I have very high expectations for Co-Pilot, but I will focus on learning how to use it correctly before relying heavily on it. Also, I will continue to focus on quality while pursuing productivity gains with Co-Pilot (because I don’t want to be obsolete). In this regard, an interesting technology in the new office is Co-Pilot for PowerPoint.
CoPilot for PowerPoint is a bit different from others that focus on quantity in that it turns text into a presentation. Many people (I’m no exception) use PowerPoint as a big notebook to refer to when presenting and don’t take full advantage of PowerPoint’s visual messaging capabilities. Co-Pilot incorporates a feature to create a script and makes an excellent presentation by taking advantage of the features of visual media. Ironically, one of the secrets to my early success in marketing was my ability to craft better presentations. This ability made them much more visible to management than less qualified people.
For those who use PowerPoint as a sort of makeshift, but know how to tell a great story, PowerPoint Co-Pilot is a godsend for presentations. You can embody the concept you want to convey in image form and use it in documents and books. Sure, it’s hard to use it properly if you don’t know how to speak in the first place, but it’s the single tool I’m looking forward to the most.
How will generative AI evolve in the future?
Generative AI is the first tool capable of learning from humans. Over time, it will learn and automate what humans do at an increasing rate. As with any automation process, this means that AI flaws and their side effects can be minimized by eliminating human flaws first. Without this effort, AI assistants can learn bad habits from humans and spend a lot of time trying to forget them.
I predict generative AI will pave the way for “digital twins” that will create technological copies of humans. In other words, the harder you try to improve the quality of your digital twin, the sooner the time will come when results will show. The evolution of generative AI is now in its early stages. It’s clear to me that people who embrace this technology and learn to use it effectively will replace those who don’t. It is the same situation that people who adopted computers drove out those who insisted on typewriters and calculators.
The wave created by AI has only just begun. As with all technological advances like this, it’s good to quickly learn to swim with these waves. otherwise you will drown. No one will want to do that.
*The author, Rob Enderle, is a senior analyst at Enderle Group, a consulting firm specializing in technology analysis. Microsoft specifies in advance that Ende is a customer of the group.
ciokr@idg.co.kr
