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Google and Microsoft integrate generative AI into consumer products: Can they change how we work?
Exciting news from Google and Microsoft! After pushing generative AI into their search engines and browsers, and now they're adding them to consumer products like Outlook, Bing, Edge, Gmail, Docs, and more. This move is set to change how we use these apps.
In Google's Gmail and Docs, generative AI will help users write documents automatically. For example, an HR executive can simply ask the AI app to write a welcome email for employees, instead of typing out the document. Similarly, Microsoft has 'Copilot 365' for its Microsoft 365 apps, which includes Teams, Outlook, Word, and Excel. Here, AI could generate a spreadsheet on command, or even write down an entire article on Word (depending on the topic).
Are these the only such products?
No, Microsoft has already added bots to its Bing search engine and Edge browser, based on AI research firm OpenAI's GPT-4 model. Google is expected to add a bot called Bard to its flagship search engine. Both firms are making generative AI platforms and models a part of their cloud offerings too, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.
What impact will these products have on consumers?
By integrating generative AI into their products, Google and Microsoft are increasing the number of people who can access and use such products. These products are meant to help take the load off humans by taking on the grunt work from day-to-day tasks.
So, do we need humans at work at all?
Yes, we do. Since these products learn from the internet or training data, which itself may have been inaccurate, they could increase the spread of misinformation online. And who better than humans to check AI-generated info?
It's an exciting time for AI and its integration into our daily lives. But let's not forget the importance of human oversight and intervention to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information generated by these new products.