The impact of AI
Once in a while, something comes along that should be seen as a breakthrough. In IT, this was the launch of the first affordable Personal Computer, then the worldwide Internet and in recent years Cloud technology. Now we can definitely add Artificial Intelligence to this list.
At Universal, we use AI as a tool in our daily work. Read our previous blog about this:
Artificial Intelligence is everywhere – and can really help (universal.cloud).
This innovation is now gaining momentum with the availability of services from the company OpenAI. ChatGPT is in the news worldwide and millions of people are getting acquainted with this intelligent chatbot. Because of the fact that these models have been trained on large amounts of data, the impact can be massive. One of the investors in openAI is Microsoft, which has indicated that it will integrate this technology in all their office software. That is not just a daydream, the technology is really and already here today. But what is the actual impact?
Artificial Intelligence is coming to Office tools
AI can for instance support you while working in Excel. No need to breed about a complex formula, the desired end result can be formulated in natural language, after which the AI model is able to generate the formula. Also describing what a graph in PowerBI should look like can be formulated in natural language. Or imagine you can respond to an e-mail where the AI model in Outlook makes suggestions for content. This will provide a huge productivity boost that will benefit many users of this software
AI has greater impact when integrated with company specific apps
As OpenAI’s AI models are also combined with company specific information, such as data from CRM systems, emails and Helpdesk/Ticket systems, this software becomes increasingly valuable and smarter. Users can be supported in making decisions because the applied AI understands the context and has up-to-date data. This is a promise that Business Intelligence has partially fulfilled, but on a completely different level. The AI models are performing their tasks in the background and provide support through applications, whenever needed to do our job. It is not a separate system to which we navigate, as for example with Business Intelligence reports, but AI will be omnipresent in existing Office applications. An additional effect of such applications is that the system will also learn through our use and therefore become increasingly valuable / smarter. Just as ChatGPT is fed with millions of sources of generic documents, company specific AI systems are gaining more and more knowledge and are therefore becoming more valuable to the organization.
ChatGPT and uWebChat
At Universal, software was already applied that has been generated by ChatGPT; enabling us to manage our Cloud infrastructure in a smarter way. ChatGPT has knowledge of Cloud technology, but also of programming languages. Within seconds, after sketching the desired result, the necessary PowerShell script code was created and, with only a couple of minor adjustments, ready for use. Engineers were amazed by the quality, it was just mind-blowing. At the moment, we are working on optimizing our #uWebChat live chat bot by linking to OpenAI models, to add virtual assistants to our live chat bot.
Explore your opportunities
We already knew that AI is going to play a bigger role in our daily lives, but it is going even faster than was generally assumed. In IT, the impact will be huge, and will even change the role of software engineers. From code creation to assessing and integrating pieces of algorithms made by AI. At a company like Tesla, 80% of the auto-pilot code is already made by co-pilot. An already existing service within Microsoft’s Visual Studio that helps developers by making suggestions in the form of pieces of usable code.
Non-technology-driven organizations also have to deal with AI because more and more work can be done faster with AI support. Think of reviewing/summarizing documents or filling in forms. The role of the human being remains important in this, especially for the creative process and in making final decisions.
Many users of Microsoft 365 services will probably soon have access to this technology and can then take advantage and the opportunity to get ahead of competition. Universal’s advices; start now and investigate ways and scenarios where AI can help to immediately follow up and implement. You’ll be surprised about the opportunities this will bring to your organization and enables you to be in control. AI is an opportunity that can positively change our lives.
