Stand Aside Covid-19, There’s a New Disruptor in Town and it’s Called AI.

Stand Aside Covid-19, There’s a New Disruptor in Town and it’s Called AI.

It’s been almost a week since the news broke about Microsoft’s newest AI technology called, Copilot and I’ve seen very little on this platform discussed about it – and I have been looking trust me.

I’ve been waiting.

I’ve been curious.

All I see are continued conversations about “other” far less important stuff. I mean who cares if you are actually in the office 1x a week, 3x a week or never – because if you thought the pandemic caused a disruption – just wait until these AI tools hit the market.

That’s when the real disruption will come.

The pandemic simply set the stage, forged the foundation for the evolution of work as we knew it. It was an enabler, not a disruptor. ?

Now is the REAL disruption.

So, I cannot understand why NO ONE is talking about it??!!?

Microsoft Copilot is an AI-powered learned language tool that can assist developers in writing code more efficiently and accurately.

Got your attention yet? No…. keep reading.

While it may not seem immediately obvious how a tool like this could revolutionize how we think about work, it’s part of a broader trend toward automation and AI that is already reshaping the modern workplace in profound ways – and it’s coming fast and furious.

One of the ways that AI tools like this are changing the workplace is by enabling employees to work more flexibly and remotely.

(Remember my comment about the pandemic setting the stage for this?)

Tasks that would normally take hours for employees to complete can be done in a fraction of the time. With Microsoft Copilot, this technology uses AI to suggest lines of code based on the task at hand, allowing developers to write better code more quickly & efficiently. This not only saves time but also reduces the risk of errors, ultimately leading to better quality work.

Also, with the help of AI-powered tools, employees can work from virtually anywhere and collaborate with colleagues in real-time, no matter where they are located. This has important implications for how we think about where work is done and how we measure employee performance.

It’s not longer relevant to measure employee performance by the number of hours they clock or the number of days their backside sits in a chair outside a manager’s office – nope, those days are long gone.

Instead, we may need to focus on measuring the impact of the work done by employees, rather than just the amount of work done. This could mean measuring the success of a project or the level of customer satisfaction, rather than just the number of lines of code written, the number of hours logged or the number of days one sat in a seat.

Measuring employee engagement, communication, and collaboration are now more important, as these factors can have a significant impact on employee performance and job satisfaction.

AI tools, like Microsoft Copilot enable employees to focus on higher-value tasks that require creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. By automating routine and repetitive tasks, AI-powered tools can free up employees to focus on tasks that require human skills and expertise. This can lead to greater job satisfaction, higher levels of employee engagement, and improved performance overall.

How you ask? Let’s walk through some very typical technologies employees use DAILY.

PowerPoint: ?Copilot can suggest content and design elements based on the user's input. This can include suggestions for slide layouts, images, charts, and other visual elements. Copilot can also suggest alternative phrasing for bullet points or other text-based content, making it easier for users to create engaging and impactful presentations. No more noodling over what something should be or even what the speaker notes should be. Time saved. ?

Word: Copilot can help users with a wide range of tasks, from suggesting alternative words or phrases to helping with formatting and layout. Copilot can even help users generate tables of contents and create footnotes and citations, making it easier for them to focus on the content of their documents rather than getting bogged down in the details. Time saved – this one is something I am particularly excited for with my students.

Excel: Copilot can suggest formulas and functions based on the data that the user is working with. This can help users to quickly and easily analyze large amounts of data, saving them time and increasing productivity. Copilot can also help with formatting and layout, making it easier for users to create professional-looking spreadsheets that are easy to read and understand. Time saved, errors avoided. ?

By suggesting content, design elements, formulas and functions tools like Microsoft Copilot will help employees save time and improve the quality of their work.

These tools and this pending disruption will help break down traditional silos within organizations and promote greater collaboration and knowledge sharing. By making it easier for employees to work together and share information, AI-powered tools can improve communication, foster innovation, and drive better business outcomes.

Isn’t that what so many have been talking about, employee engagement and experience??

What so many are using as the “guise” to force, cajole or otherwise demand employees return to the centralized office?

What happens now when AI tools provide that SAME level of collaboration, engagement and improved performance WITHOUT the need for a “place”?

What happens when the very nature of “place” is everywhere and nowhere at all?

Why is no one talking about it or worse yet be hesitant to adopt these new technologies?

Is it fear of the unknown? Is it the misconception and concern that these technologies will have a detrimental impact on jobs, society and even our education system? To those – I call BS.

This technology that WILL disrupt the very fabric of how we learn, how, where and why we work – this is true. ?But AI can create NEW job opportunities and improve employee productivity by automating routine tasks and allowing employees to focus on higher value activities. Embracing this technology not ignoring it or avoiding it will allow businesses, colleges and the like to gain a competitive edge and become more efficient, productive and innovative.

These tools once understood, can actually be integrated into existing workflows to automate tasks, streamline workflows and make better decisions which as a result will lead to a significant improvement in efficiency, productivity and performance.

Seems like a no-brainer to me.

The reality is for so many businesses and organizations they believed the pandemic to be the biggest disruptor to their way of life, their way of working. Boy were they shortsighted. ?

Don’t get me wrong, it was a disruptor, although now I see it more as an enabler. It enabled us to force outdated beliefs around work, place and productivity to be upended. The pandemic allowed a reckoning for control and power to be more balanced and finally gave us a lever by which we can truly embrace diversity, equity and inclusion at a global level.

The pandemic allowed a paradigm shift in the idea of place. Place for your family and your life, place where you can work and it finally shattered any misconceptions that one MUST work, live and play AROUND your workplace.

Lastly, it opened up the talent pool for employers and allowed those parts of the world that otherwise could not support large scale industry to finally have job opportunities for those humans.

So yes, the pandemic was a catalyst for what is about to hit us all….. a true and real disruption of a size and scale that will make the pandemic seem small in comparison….Technology and AI.

Can we please stop arguing over # of days in an office, how to cajole or force employees to return to appease outdated views and beliefs by leadership and start talking about what REALLY matters??

1.??????HUMANS - How they work, how they play, how they are supported.

2.??????TECHNOLOGY – Leveraging technology to support our humans and the work they need to do.

3.??????PLACE – Embrace that “Place” will now be everywhere and nowhere at all.?

#futureofwork #AI #innovation #workplaceofthefuture #technology