Microsoft’s AI cuts costs + PowerPoint’s shaky future 💻🛠️

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Microsoft’s bold AI sales pitch: Fewer humans, more savings

Microsoft isn’t mincing words about AI anymore. The tech giant’s new pitch to businesses? Use AI-powered tools, save on hiring costs, and get more done with fewer humans. It’s a strategy that’s ruffling feathers but resonating with cost-conscious CEOs and CFOs.

The pitch: Save big by spending smart

Microsoft’s 365 Copilot is making waves by replacing tasks traditionally outsourced to agencies or handled by extra hires. Finastra, a $2 billion fintech company, used Copilot to streamline a marketing campaign—tasks that would’ve cost $60,000 and taken months were handled for just $30 per user per month.

Broadcom, meanwhile, kept its IT support team under 20 people despite growing its workforce fivefold, thanks to AI software from startups like Moveworks. The savings? Millions annually.

A delicate balance

AI’s potential to replace jobs isn’t a new idea, but companies like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have tiptoed around the issue to avoid public backlash. Yet now, faced with customer demands for clear ROI, Microsoft is leaning in.

“We’ve improved throughput by 12% per customer service agent with Copilot,” said Microsoft CMO Jared Spataro. “That means we don’t need to hire as many people.”

Google, on the other hand, edited a customer’s public statement to remove the words “labor cost savings.”

The risks: Talking about AI as a job-slasher invites reputational and political risks. Critics argue it’s not just about efficiency; it’s about upending entire industries and livelihoods. But for companies under pressure to cut costs and boost productivity, the numbers are hard to ignore.

The bottom line: Microsoft’s AI tools aren’t just selling innovation; they’re selling a leaner, more cost-efficient future. Whether that excites or alarms you depends on which side of the paycheck you’re on. But one thing’s clear—AI is no longer just a tool; it’s a strategy reshaping the workforce.

Top updates…

💻 ChatGPT Pro launches at $200/month: OpenAI’s new Pro tier offers exclusive access to its advanced o1 model, optimized for tough reasoning tasks and high-end performance.

📊 Ad revenue rebounds in 2024: Digital ad revenue jumped 12% this year, led by growth in retail media and AI-driven targeting, signaling a recovery from last year’s slowdown.

🎥 OpenAI’s Sora debuts: Sora, OpenAI’s video generation model, now allows users to create high-quality, stylized video clips. ChatGPT Pro users get up to 500 videos monthly.

🔢 Google’s quantum leap: Google’s new Willow chip achieves error-resistant quantum calculations, a breakthrough that could scale the technology for real-world applications.

🌍 EU calls for geoengineering ban: European scientists urge a moratorium on solar geoengineering projects, citing environmental and ethical concerns.

📱 Vipps rivals Apple Pay: Norway’s Vipps app becomes the first to use iPhone’s NFC tech for payments, following new EU rules.

🚔 CEO murder suspect arrested: A developer was arrested for allegedly killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, found with a ghost gun and anti-corporate writings.

🚀 Blue Origin’s New Glenn set for launch: Blue Origin confirmed its heavy-lift rocket, New Glenn, is on track for a maiden launch before the end of 2024, aiming to compete with SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy.

🚗 Tesla Model Q rumors heat up: Reports suggest Tesla’s rumored $25,000 compact EV, the Model Q, could feature an 80-mile range and a new battery design, sparking speculation about a 2025 debut.

Is PowerPoint finally on the way out?

For decades, PowerPoint has ruled our meetings, pitches, and even the occasional awkward team-building session. But lately, a growing crowd—including Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and even Edward Norton (yes, that Edward Norton)—wants to kill the deck. Is this the end of our slide-based purgatory?

Why people hate it

PowerPoint is the office zombie. It’s been around for nearly 40 years, but instead of evolving, it’s drained the life out of our meetings. Every slide deck forces ideas into the same rigid, bullet-pointed format—oversimplifying complex thoughts and turning presenters into glorified narrators.

Even Microsoft’s own Steve Ballmer wasn’t a fan, once saying, “Please don’t present the deck.” Bezos banned them at Amazon, opting for six-page memos instead, and Steve Jobs called them a lazy substitute for real thinking.

Enter the slide rebels

A new wave of startups and companies is trying to smash the deck-shaped mold. Norton’s startup, Zeck, ditches slides for collaborative websites where teams can actually discuss ideas instead of squinting at slides crammed with charts and GIFs.

Big names like Hard Rock Hotel and Phantom Space have jumped on board, proving you can make major decisions without flipping through 50 slides first.

So, are slides dead?

Not so fast. PowerPoint is too embedded to disappear entirely. Investors still expect pitch decks. Managers still demand slides for updates. And, let’s face it, a killer deck can still wow a room when it’s done right.

But the tide is shifting. Whether it’s collaborative tools like Zeck or a simple refusal to play the slide game, people are looking for better ways to share ideas. Maybe it’s time we all reconsidered if that next meeting really needs a deck—or just a conversation.

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