Sick of hearing about ChatGPT in Bing? Too bad: Microsoft is just getting started
Just what we need: more AI in our lives
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On Thursday, March 16,Microsoftis planning to reveal more of its grand scheme for implementingAI chatbot ChatGPT’s features into yet more aspects of our lives - specifically, how the tech firm has big plans to “reinvent productivity with AI”.
Besides being utterly meaningly corporate marketing jargon, this notion of ‘reinventing productivity’ is concerning at best, especially since we don’t know what it actually entails yet. Speculation is rife that Microsoft plans to integrateChatGPTinto theMicrosoft 365(formerly Office) software suite, along with the Dynamics 365 suite for enterprise use.
This comes hot on the heels of Microsoft shoving thechatbotinto almost everything it owns. Starting out with theintegration of ChatGPT into Bingand following rapidly with AI-powered additions to Skype and the Windows 11 taskbar, Microsoft has been going hard when it comes to AI in its software.
We had already speculated about the ways in which ChatGPT couldtransform Microsoft’s consumer software suite, so it’s not like this is a huge surprise. However, I’m worried about the whole prospect; Microsoft is rushing into its AI implementation plan, and it’s going to cause more problems than it solves.
The AI arms race
Microsoft’s apparent desire to shoehorn AI features into yet more of its products is likely a response to competitorSalesforce’s own moves in partnering up with ChatGPT creatorOpenAItobring the chatbot to Slack(as well asSnapchat introducing its own AI chatbot) This sort of reactionary decisionmaking is rarely a wise move, especially when it involves AI.
ChatGPT has already proven itself to be, well,problematic. Whether it’s being used tocommit cybercrimeor createspurious photography competition entries, AI poses some very serious risks. Many of these problems are caused by human abuse of AI software, but tools like ChatGPT havetheir own failings too.
We’re witnessing a real-time arms race to cram AI tech into every aspect of our lives, andI wouldn’t trust Microsoft(or any huge tech company, likeGoogleor Meta) to be the harbingers of this chatbot renaissance. Right now, Microsoft is demonstrating a lack of caution when it comes to ChatGPT and AI in general, especially since it’s a space yet to see serious regulation from major governments.
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I will admit that AI coming to the 365 suite is actually a much less horrible idea than, say,letting ChatGPT make video content. The ability to ask ChatGPT something simple like ‘add some animations to my PowerPoint presentation’ or ‘reformat this text document as a letter’ is both useful and relatively non-threatening - though the potential for Microsoft Word to simply write content for you is a bit concerning, especially for the academic space.
I’m not saying that ChatGPT being added to these tools is going to ruin our lives, but it has issues - and I’m definitely not convinced that Microsoft is taking all the right precautions here. This is a situation where caution will be rewarded; Google isn’t letting people getup close and personal with its new AI just yet, and Microsoft themselves had to limit theBingchatbots replies after awhole load of weirdnessfrom the AI. Charging ahead with more AI tools right now? Not a good look.
Christian is TechRadar’s UK-based Computing Editor. He came to us from Maximum PC magazine, where he fell in love with computer hardware and building PCs. He was a regular fixture amongst our freelance review team before making the jump to TechRadar, and can usually be found drooling over the latest high-end graphics card or gaming laptop before looking at his bank account balance and crying.
Christian is a keen campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights and the owner of a charming rescue dog named Lucy, having adopted her after he beat cancer in 2021. She keeps him fit and healthy through a combination of face-licking and long walks, and only occasionally barks at him to demand treats when he’s trying to work from home.
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