Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly become one of the most transformative forces reshaping the modern workplace. Whilst it may feel like a recent revolution, AI has been in the making for decades, evolving from theoretical concepts to powerful tools that now drive efficiency, innovation, and collaboration across industries.
But if your employees are already using AI and you’re not reviewing how they use it are they putting you at risk? And what should you consider if they are using AI before you are ready?
A Brief History of AI: From Turing to Today
The journey to AI began in 1950 when Alan Turing proposed the Turing Test as a way to evaluate whether a machine could think like a human. By 1997, IBM’s Deep Blue made history by defeating world chess champion Garry Kasparov, signalling AI’s potential to outperform human intelligence in specific tasks.
Fast forward to today, and AI has become deeply embedded in our daily lives, from robotic vacuum cleaners to ChatGPT, which some argue has now passed the Turing Test. What was once futuristic has become foundational.
A Decade of Transformation
Ten years ago, Microsoft released its “Future Vision” video, depicting a world of smart devices, real-time collaboration, and augmented reality. At the time, these ideas felt far-fetched. Yet today, they are reality.
We use augmented reality in fields such as marine research and medicine, 3D printing for rapid prototyping, and wearable technology such as smartwatches to stay connected and healthy. Remote collaboration and hybrid workspaces have become the new normal, fulfilling Microsoft’s vision of flexibility and connectedness in the workplace.
How might your business be using AI (with or without your knowledge)?
One of the most significant enablers of AI productivity is Microsoft’s Modern Workplace ecosystem, designed to make collaboration seamless, secure, and intelligent.
At the heart of this transformation lies Microsoft Copilot, an AI assistant integrated across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams. It can summarise meetings, draft reports, analyse spreadsheets, and even create presentations from scratch.
With the tool costing around £25 per user per month in the UK and trials showing average time savings in the order of approximately 25 minutes per day in some organisations (as demonstrated in the https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/683db42bd23a62e5d32680d0/M365_Copilot_Experiment_Findings_Report.pdf), the potential for the licence to pay for itself in productivity gain is strong – though results will vary by role, task type and how deeply the tool is adopted. But it might be something that your current IT provider has switched on for your team without your knowledge and your employees might already be using.
While that has its benefits, for example, employees who once spent a full day responding to an RFI can now complete the task in under two hours using Copilot. It might also be releasing your company’s data to the CoPilot ‘brain’ and using that data for external organisations to also take advantage from.
What other AI Tools might your employees be using?
Beyond Copilot, many businesses are adopting other AI-driven solutions:
- Fireflies.ai for meeting transcription and summarisation
- ChatGPT for content creation and ideation
These tools do not just save time; they elevate the quality of work by eliminating repetitive tasks and enabling employees to focus on creativity and strategy. But they can come with concerns in terms of quality of work as well as how your data might be being used.
What do you need to be concerned about with AI as a business?
AI is not perfect. From chatbots confidently making factual errors to image generators creating surreal results (extra fingers, anyone?), human oversight remains essential.
As the saying goes, “AI is smart, but not wise.” It can analyse, summarise, and generate, but it still relies on humans to guide, verify, and refine its output. From a business perspective, the negatives to be aware of include:
- Your employees sharing confidential business data in third-party services such as ChatGPT
- Your employees using a wide range of AI tools to make their lives easier
- A lack of an AI policy that protects your business and protects your employees
- Your employees using AI to complete all their work without a human check
A Glimpse into the Future
AI’s potential extends beyond convenience. Experiments with self-learning robots and autonomous systems hint at a future where machines do not just follow instructions; they learn, evolve, and act independently.
As one expert put it, we are not just building tools anymore – we are creating “a new form of being,” capable of learning, adapting, and even making decisions.
Adapting to an AI-Driven Economy
With automation accelerating, the question arises: Will AI replace jobs or create new ones?
Whilst estimates suggest 90 million jobs may be displaced by 2030, around 130 million new roles are expected to emerge. However, this impact remains heavily contested. Some experts, including pioneers in the field of AI, warn that the number of new jobs created may not fully offset those lost, whilst others believe that entirely new industries will arise, much like when the invention of the car created opportunities in manufacturing, logistics, and insurance.
This debate is not new. In fact, back in 1966, a group of 13-year-olds interviewed about the future expressed fears that computers and automation would one day take over, leaving “only jobs for people with high IQs who can work computers.” Nearly 60 years later, those early predictions feel remarkably close to today’s reality, as automation begins to reshape the global workforce once again.
What is clear is that this transition will not be uniform. Success will belong to organisations and professionals who embrace AI early, integrating it thoughtfully rather than resisting it, and focusing on how human creativity, judgement, and empathy can complement the power of automation.
Practical steps to starting safely and successfully with AI
AI is not here to replace humans; it is here to enhance what we can achieve. It gives us the closest thing to more time: the ability to work smarter, not harder. It might feel counterintuitive to put parameters in place if your team are already using AI but you want to make sure, they are using these tools that work in a way for you.
Creating and implementing an AI policy can be a practical first step to start safely. And it can be generated via AI itself! But your input and review will be essential to ensure the policy works for your business. If you’re unsure how to review a policy generated by AI, you might need to look for further human help.
This is where talking to an experienced technology partner, like EBS, can help you implement AI effectively and successfully within your business. We can help you understand the AI that is available for your organization and what you might need to consider to ensure your business prospers rather than gets left behind.
