Microsoft’s new co-pilot, refugee mentors, and how sleep can help your career

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ILast week it was almost giddy to watch Microsoft’s executive team unveil Copilot, its new natural language-based AI tool that will be integrated into its suite of productivity apps; tools like Word, Teams, Outlook and Excel that many office workers use every day. .

The advances were mind-boggling. Click a button, and a Word document becomes a PowerPoint presentation. Missed a Teams video meeting? Get an instant summary and interview to-do list. Got a sales meeting? Get ready instantly by asking Copilot to search Outlook, Teams, and Excel to gather information in seconds. The effect was spectacular, perhaps even transformative, but at the same time difficult to wrap one’s head around. One Forbes contributor likened it to “adding to the MBA every day.”

One message came through loud and clear: Microsoft wants you to think of Copilot as something that will help you be faster, more productive, and free up time for what CEO Satya Nadella calls the creative “soul of work,” not something that will replace it. you Repeatedly, Nadella and other Microsoft executives at the launch described the product as “empowering,” a tool that helps “take the work out” and create a “great first draft.” For example, they emphasized, Copilot would run your work, but then a human could adjust, edit and tweak it.

Even the name of the tool, Copilot, seems to come from the AI ​​software development tool that is part of the Microsoft acquisition. GitHub, seems to emphasize that this tool should help, not replace. (apart from numerous references toClippy,” Microsoft’s 1990s Office assistant, my favorite LinkedIn chat comment at the launch was, “Can I change my name Goose If you call me Maverick?”)

With so many fears about the impact of creative AI on jobs, after all, it’s easy to imagine such tools making less work for junior partners making PowerPoint presentations, it’s easy to see why this has been the dominant message. “They’ve done a masterful job on location,” human resources industry analyst Josh Bersin told me Monday, referring to Copilot. “It’s not this scary humanoid. … It’s a tool. It’s not perfect, but it’s good at many things.”

Of course, it’s too early to know exactly how much of an impact ChatGPT and other AI tools will have on jobs. Although some reports suggest that companies already are replacing human work with AIothers, like Goldman Sachs Chief Information Officer Marco Argenti he told CNBCsay software developers are using creative AI to help them, but only as a “proof of concept” that makes them “more productive,” Forbes reported.

As Jeff Schwartz, founding partner of Deloitte’s Future of Work practice and now vice president of talent marketplace platform insight and impact. Up, told me recently, “AI, automation and technology will continue to disrupt all of our jobs. It will change the way you work. But that’s what technology has always done.” While some jobs are likely to be destroyed, he said—no one makes typewriters anymore, for example—“this is not a replacement game. It’s a game of expansion and cooperation.’

In the meantime, you’re likely to see more exciting presentations from the likes of Microsoft about how AI can help you increase productivity and free up time for creative work. Already, Google has launched Bard to compete with ChatGPT. And there will certainly be more to come soon.

THE MAIN STORY

Google, Pfizer, Chobani and other big companies pledge to match Afghan refugees with military veterans as mentors

Major corporations have pledged to increase the number of military veterans in their ranks and to hire refugees who are making the US their new home. Now, a new program aims to bring these two groups together, matching veterans whose experiences with Afghan refugees can further invest in their success. Read more from here Forbes‘Emmy Lucas.

ON OUR AGENDA

News from the world of work

Bank bust: What do you need to know to deal with the evolution of the banking crisis? Experts offer advice on the safety of their hard-earned cash, reports suggest Credit Suisse’s purchase of UBS could lead to more job cuts, some insiders dumped shares before a bank collapsed and President Biden wants to ban failed bank executives from working in the industry . .

Other gender differences: We’ve all heard of the equal pay gap. But there’s a gap in how men and women experience toxic corporate cultures, contributor Bryan Robinson reports. MIT Sloan Management Review. Women are 41% more likely than men to experience a toxic corporate culture, the report says, and in self-reported C-level roles, female executives are more likely than men to experience toxicity.

Where wages go the furthest: With the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate decision behind us, many will be looking at its impact on consumer prices. Find out if your city has the highest rate of inflation.

The AI ​​scandal continues: See how the new version of OpenAI, GPT-4, is more advanced than its predecessor, and read how Microsoft founder and billionaire Bill Gates believes artificial intelligence will revolutionize healthcare for the world’s poor.

Stay there: Do you want less work stress, more life satisfaction and better health? New research reminds us how important sleep is.

WORK THROUGH

Manage a team? Help survivors by doing these three things.

You’re back in the office. It seems noisier than before. But to what extent?

Here’s how to spot a toxic culture from a job ad.

Worried about your job? Here are five ways to increase visibility in your work.

Escape meeting overload with these ideas for a clearer schedule.