Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools will save businesses a huge amount of time and money, says Vik Singh, a Microsoft vice president, even though these fledgling applications still have a lot to learn, such as admitting their shortcomings. “What’s really missing from these models today, to be honest, is they’re not raising their hand and saying, ‘Hey, I’m not sure, I need help.'”he explains during an interview with AFP.
Since last year, Microsoft, Google and their competitors have been rapidly deploying generative AI applications like ChatGPT (OpenAI), which produce all sorts of content on demand, and give users the illusion of being omniscient. But, despite progress, they sometimes continue to“hallucinate”that is, to invent answers.
A major problem to solve, according to Vik Singh, in charge of Copilot applications at Microsoft. Because the customers of this AI assistant from the American IT giant – companies – cannot afford for it to make up stories, even occasionally. “Very smart people are working on this problem (…) so that the models identify when they don’t know and ask for help”he promises. And a more humble model would be no less useful, he says.
He takes the example of an AI assistant specializing in customer service. “I spoke to a company that was spending $8 per query, every time one of their representatives responded.”he says. Even though in half the cases the machine had to call on humans to find the solution, the company “would still achieve huge savings”.
Productivity
Having arrived at Microsoft in January, Vik Singh took over this summer as head of the teams developing the «Copilot» (AI assistants) specialized in sales, accounting and services. Little known to the general public, these commercial applications allow technology groups to justify their massive investments in generative AI, as they begin to generate revenue.
According to the Windows group, Copilot performs research for salespeople, freeing up time to call customers. Lumen, a telecom company, “saves about $50 million a year”says Singh. The startups driving the generative AI revolution promise systems so advanced they will help “elevate humanity”in the words of Sam Altman, the boss of OpenAI (mainly funded by Microsoft).
But for now, the new technology is mainly used to increase productivity and therefore profitability. Vik Singh’s teams are working to integrate Copilot directly into the group’s software and make them more autonomous, so that users will need to use them less and less directly. “For example, you are a sales representative”suggests the manager. Two weeks after a conversation with a customer, the AI assistant “may prompt you to follow up with the contact, or better yet, automatically send an email on your behalf, because the task was approved up front”.
Job
Before finding a solution to global warming, AI is therefore supposed to rid humanity of boring and repetitive chores. “This is just the beginning”Mr. Singh recalls. “We focus on the easiest applications first” to implement. Will all these productivity gains translate into job losses? Big-company executives like K. Krithivasan, head of Indian IT giant TCS, have said that generative AI will all but eliminate call centers. But Vik Singh — like many Silicon Valley executives — is counting on the technology to make humans more creative and even create new jobs.
He cites his experience at Yahoo.com in 2008 as proof, when a dozen editors chose the articles for the home page. “We had the idea of using AI to optimize this process, and some people said, Oh my God, what’s going to happen to the employees?” Mr. Singh says. The automated system has made it possible to renew content more quickly, and therefore increase the number of clicks on links but also the need for new articles. “In the end”concludes the framework, “We had to recruit more editors”.
