Augmenting The Cognitive: Irina Ghose on Microsoft's AI Approach

If there was one thread that could be picked across the tech ecosystem, making 2023 a watershed year for the sector, it would be the impact of generative AI (artificial intelligence). 

The meteoric rise in AI development and the speed of adoption make it impossible to ignore or even sidestep the movements in this space. As AI impacts the way people work and how companies become more efficient while unlocking creativity, for Microsoft, it became the pillar of positive growth in what had otherwise begun as a tough year.

“It is the new era of computing that we are experiencing along with our partners, our customers and together with the ecosystem,” remarks Irina Ghose, Managing Director, Microsoft India. Earlier in the year, Microsoft made Azure OpenAI service generally available so more businesses could apply for access to advanced AI models.

“The idea was to democratise the experience for all users and not let it either be enabled for the backend or available to the esoteric few,” explains Ghose, adding, “Microsoft has been an AI company for a long time, making strategic investments in research and building it towards things such as cognitive services, machine learning and digital twins in the way we were delivering AI solutions.”
 
An Across-the-board Solution

In 2023, there has been an emergence of many new foundational models, with accessible natural language interfaces, which, as per Ghose, makes it “more interesting” than what it was earlier. She says, “The next generation of AI is fundamentally different from what we have been experiencing in the last many years. The shift has been from autopilot to copilot and this is where we built our philosophy, integrating it across all our solutions.”

Microsoft’s persistence could be seen through its AI-powered virtual assistant, Copilot, which in 2023 became a mainstay across all its solutions. Arguably Copilot built on the tech behemoth’s expertise on the back of its ongoing investments and growth in the space but in 2023, when it took shape with Microsoft 365 at work or Security Copilot for cyber defence or at Viva for employee engagement, among other examples, Microsoft’s AI philosophy became evident.

“In this world, Copilot can unlock for software developers and business users and anything which incorporates multi-turn conversations. We intend to push the boundaries of whatever is possible in AI and experiment together,” adds Ghose.
 
Everyone Wants a Share

In the Microsoft experience, all sectors are becoming active and are experimenting with Open AI for tailored and curated business use cases for their environment. “From banking and healthcare to education and retail to government and manufacturing, everyone is using it to improve efficiency, productivity and their customer experience,” informs Ghose.
The healthcare segment, for example, is looking to integrate AI to improve outcomes such as patient care. The hospitality players are looking at how they can be more personalised with their customers. Retail is using it for customer engagement and optimising the supply chain. In manufacturing, product quality, or reducing production cost is coming in handy.

“In government, we have use cases that can solve some of the toughest problems we are facing in the country. We are working with the Ministry of Electronics and IT Communication on Bhashini, an initiative where we are using AI to make internet and digital services accessible in multiple Indian languages via translation. We are very excited about how customers have jumped on the bandwagon being very curious. It is not about the technical know-how but having the spark of a possibility, and then letting the technology develop the solution,” Ghose explains.
 
Unlocking Creativity

Amid the ongoing discussions on how AI will replace jobs, Bhaskar Basu, the Country Head for Modern Work at Microsoft India, alludes to the fundamental philosophy explaining that the Copilot’s job is to work with the people instead of replacing them. “In our Work Trend Index 2023 report, there are three major callouts that support this,” he says. The first aspect is around the tremendous amount of drudgery or boredom in everyday work before people can even get to the stage of unlocking creativity. The second is that as AI is becoming mainstream, people are actively looking at how to react to it. “We found in our report that while there is anxiety, more people wanted to look at how to use AI as an ally for repetitive chores,” says Basu.
The third key takeaway from the Work Trend Index 2023 report is around AI skilling and how leaders are looking at making AI something that a company’s human capital can embrace.

“When explored deeper, we realise that AI has enormous potential to help unlock creativity and productivity by taking away the mundane part of the work and helping focus on strategic and cognitive thinking and creative energies. Imagine there is a digital companion that figures out stuff on Word, Excel, PPT or Teams and allows you to focus your energy on driving innovation. This is the trend we need to embrace and build on top of,” asserts Basu.
 
Engagement & Experience

Numbers show that companies with highly engaged workforces and established employee experience platforms have better financial outcomes. There is a new performance equation at play. “Employee engagement matters and irrespective of whether it is economic boom or uncertainty, this is the constant that leaders need to focus on,” Basu advises.
Employee experience pivots in four pillars.

 The first is the ability to get insights from employees. Next comes how companies are establishing a fabric of connection within the organisation, across levels as social capital becomes a people imperative. The third is around purpose, without which employees are lost. People want to know whether they are contributing to the organisation’s culture, vision and mission. Basu points out that when this clarity is missing, it leads to “compromise in employee experience”. The final pillar is around growth, which entails several dimensions such as learning, career navigation, upskilling and networking, among others.

“When we look at all this, it is evident that there is much to be done towards unlocking employee experience and engagement. Microsoft Viva was designed to respond to this need capturing different kinds of digital signals. When you layer it with AI, Copilot not only helps understand the signals but also recommends how to make use of them to improve employee experience and performance. The modules give insights and goals but Copilot makes it simpler for the leader using a conversational style,” Basu adds.
 
The Future Ready Skills

Microsoft identified the mindset shift from autopilot to ‘copilot’ to make AI work across levels but this is still a work in progress and an area where it must come together and work with all stakeholders. “Everyone is curious about AI but they may not have the in-house capabilities or have plunged into developing it. It is therefore our responsibility and accountability to create this entire ecosystem,” states Ghose.

It was always known that AI as a philosophy would be pivotal in transforming everything in the future. “We have been investing in developing the skillset across the entire ecosystem, whether with our customers, our partner communities or the student community. Generative AI takes it to the next level. We observed on LinkedIn that jobs linked to AI have gone up dramatically. Work will demand a new AI aptitude and leaders need to bring this as an ethos in the way we are working,” the Microsoft India MD advises, reiterating that this is a journey that the company will continue to push forward, changing the workplace, and the world, for the better.
 
In Conversation: Irina Ghose, Managing Director, Microsoft India On The Company's AI Journey

On the Microsoft's product philosophy…

All our products and services are built on the signals we receive from our customers and our partners. Customer obsession is one of the most basic tenets of our culture. It is part of what we are at Microsoft and what we build.
 
On changing behaviours…

People are no longer looking at products at the workplace but the experiences that they have, and that they want to have. They are looking at what is it that they want to accomplish or how to overcome their challenges, and also how they can build it in for the future. This is why there is a shift in our focus from building products to designing the technology experiences for organisational individuals towards being smarter, more productive and more efficient.
 
Our Copilots, and how we are thinking about coaches, mentors and guides in bringing the personalised experiences are part of this journey.

On cautions that must be taken in adopting AI…

AI governance and responsible AI tenets are more critical today than ever before. Generative AI, particularly, will require care. The principles of fairness, reliability, accountability and safety have to be at the core of everything we do. Companies must assess the risks and benefits of using AI on a case-to-case basis and ensure the use of AI aligns with their values and ethics. Empowerment comes with responsibility. AI can be influenced positively and negatively by the person using it. We must ask ourselves whether we are looking at it appropriately.
 
On the larger AI responsibility…

All of us who are building, deploying and adopting AI have the collective obligation that AI evolves in alignment with social, cultural and legal norms in a democratic society. As we progress, we should learn, debate and scrutinise with everyone so that the learning process and lessons also evolve. We should also not forget that agility is of the essence here. Hence, we must together move towards and adapt to this change now.