Artificial Intelligence to improve productivity, not take over jobs —Microsoft

MICROSOFT Corporation has said that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will not take over jobs.

Director of Data and AI at Microsoft South Africa, Mr Ayanda Ngcebetsha, noted that AI would only improve productivity rather than take over jobs.

He made the disclosure via a virtual Microsoft Africa AI Journalists Academy on Monday.

Ngcebetsha said apart from improved productivity, AI would enhance creativity and evolve mundane tasks among others.

“As against the misconception of AI taking over jobs, after improved productivity, empowering AI rather than job loss comes next for business leaders.

“Amid concerns of replacing jobs, data from an illustration by Manuel Bortoletti shows that business leaders are looking to empower people with AI rather than replace them,” the Director said.

Ngcebetsha said that AI was around us, yet invisible and working aside from us to enhance creativity rather than working against creativity.

According to him, Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) are more interested in using AI to increase productivity than to cut headcount.

He said that from the data available to the corporation, reducing headcount was last on the list of what leaders would value from AI.

“After ‘increasing productivity’, leaders’ top hopes for AI are to help employees with necessary but repetitive tasks and increase employee wellbeing.

“They also want to eliminate employee time spent on low-value activities, enhance employees’ capabilities and accelerate employees’ pace of work,’’ the Microsoft director said.

According to him, if we make AI our friend, we will be more productive in what we do and what we know how to do best.

Ngcebetsha stressed that AI was about working alongside humans as an everyday companion.

He said that AI could help lift the burden on humans, adding that to date, AI had mostly been on autopilot but the next-generation copilots would work alongside people.

Ngcebetsha said, “AI will work alongside people, freeing them from digital debt and fueling innovation.

“Organisations that embrace AI will unleash creativity and unlock productivity for everyone—ushering in a new wave of productivity growth and value creation.”

Also speaking at the virtual session, Business Programme Manager, Trusha Vanmali, highlighted the benefits of AI as a copilot, especially to journalists.

Vanmali said that AI as a copilot had a conversational assistant tool that enhances creativity and helps with more specific results in search engines.

She said that as journalists, AI helped to improve productivity, enhance creativity and give the workflow that was needed.

The CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, had described AI and more specifically generative AI as leading the technology charge.

He said that 2023 was the year AI went mainstream, but 2024 is the year in which AI tools would help free up time for more creative and fulfilling cognitive work.