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Byte-sized AI: Are you thinking deeper?
I’m back for another Byte-sized AI issue, and as promised here are my three things: đ
- Something techy from the news
- Something that made me laugh
- Something that you can do to improve how you work
đ° The one item of news:
Are you thinking deeper?
Microsoft has made voice interaction with Copilot and access to Think Deeper free for all users of the mobile app. Voice interaction is what it says on the tin â talk to the phone to have ongoing conversations with Copilot.
Think Deeper is a more advanced analytical engine which factors in a lot more than the standard Copilot offering, and which previously was only available in Copilot Pro. You might want to plan something, compare options or have a more guided discussion about something more profound.
I tried the same prompt asking for advice on where to take my career next. The standard response was â well, it was pretty standard stuff. But Think Deeper went into more depth, offered comparisons with others who have achieved my goals, and was much more empathetic to the fact that I am not a spring chicken with 40 years to do stuff!
đ The one thing that made me laugh:
A day with the Chamber of Commerce
I had lots of fun on Friday at the Chamber of Commerce AGM. Not a sentence you might think people would say, but there it is. They kindly invited me to speak about AI and it was wonderful talking to people after the event.
More a smile than a laugh, but I asked how many present already use AI in their business and almost every hand went up. Then I asked how many used AI that isnât the free ChatGPT⌠a lot of hands went down.
Donât get me wrong, free ChatGPT is a great and powerful tool. But itâs a consumer product to which the adage âif youâre not paying youâre not the customerâ very much applies.
đĄ The one thing you can do next week:
Excel in Copilot
Copilot in Excel continues to get better. There remain the caveats â the file must be in SharePoint or OneDrive, and the data must be a formatted table. Once those things are true, the world is your oyster!
Try things like…
- âAdd a column that shows cost per unitâ (Assuming you have total cost and units columns, it will work it out and show you how)
- âGive me a pie chart by categoryâ
- âWhatâs the highest value in [column name]?â
- âWhat trends can you extrapolate from the data?â
If you are interested to find out how AI, automation and all things clever can help your organisation why not take a look at Future Workplace, our super special IT consultancy service that can supercharge productivity, business efficiency and so much more.
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Check out past Byte-sized AI issues:
- Byte-sized AI: Bubble, bubbleIs the AI bubble about to burst? Using Copilot in Microsoft Outlook. Ethics and morals, the big difference answered.
- Byte-sized AI: Did you miss me? I bet you did!AI adoption in UK SMEs, how amazing House is and the amazing ever evolving Microsoft Copilot.
- Byte-sized AI: AI overviews and using personasAI in search is here, some of it great, some not! đ Plus, make your AI tools ten times better.
- Byte-sized AI: Numbers tell a storyDevelop your team for AI, Copilot for Notebook and pining for the fjords!
- Byte-sized AI: Lost in an open plan area!Find out what Nick has been up to at the Kent and Medway Business Summit and have you tried triple promoting.
- Byte-sized AI: AI actFind out how AI is being kept in check, decide if AI is funny, and have you started going loopy!
- Byte-sized AI: AI opportunitiesÂŁ7 million, belly laughs and AI distilled! What more can you want? Byte-sized AI from the mind of Nick Ellis!
- Byte-sized AI: Are you thinking deeper?I’m back for another Byte-sized AI issue, and as promised here are my three things. đ
- Byte-sized AI: Its a little bit of snow!This week we have seen the government get behind AI in a big way. This was inevitable whoever was in power, I think. There are a few obvious challenges here:
- Byte-sized AI: Say hello to ClaudeFor the more technical parts of my job, I use an AI called Claude, which was created by Anthropic.
- Byte-sized AI: Granny is here to make it all better!O2 have created an AI that sounds like your gran! The obvious question is âwhy?â. Firstly, it doesnât sound like your gran specifically, that would be weird; itâs a generic gran called Daisy, complete with confusion about technology and a tendency to talk about her cat too much. Still doesnât answer why though.
- Byte-sized AI: A llama with AI and an admission!Meta are doing something very interesting. They have a set of AI models collectively called âLlamaâ which anyone can download and use in their products for free.
- Byte-sized AI: Something special is happening in the UK!The UK is doing something a bit special. The global average for businesses adopting AI to some extent is around 13%.
- Byte-sized AI: Up, up and… back down! đEvery so often in the world of tech something happens that is so astonishing, so utterly gob-smacking that we should all just stop and applaud.
- Byte-sized AI: An extra brain in the room!I’m back for another Byte-sized AI issue, and as promised here are my three things! đ
- Byte-sized AI: The machines have taken over SainsburysWelcome to the very first issue of my new technology newsletter Byte-sized AI. Each issue I will give you three things:Something techy from the news Something that made me laugh Something that you can do to improve how you work
- Byte-sized AI: Be the first to hear from NickWant to get the latest news about technology and AI, then there is only one person you need to hear from and that’s me!!
Nick Ellis
AI and Innovation Lead at Select Technology. Nick’s mission is to spread the powers of AI and Automation to all, ensuring businesses are at the forefront of innovation.