Powered by Data - March 4, 2024

Data Points

Last Week in Conversational AI

• Microsoft has unveiled a new Copilot chatbot tailored for finance professionals, designed to streamline everyday tasks in Excel and Outlook. The tool, set for public preview, aims to enhance efficiency in finance departments, leveraging generative artificial intelligence. Initially, it will perform tasks like variance analysis, data reconciliation in Excel, and expediting collections in Outlook, drawing from SAP and Microsoft Dynamics 365. Dentsu, a Japanese advertising agency, is among the early adopters. Microsoft's finance department has already seen benefits, notably reducing time spent on reconciliation tasks. The Copilot aims to free up finance professionals for more strategic work, potentially accelerating financial processes for entire companies.
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• A lawyer in Vancouver, Canada, is under investigation for allegedly submitting fictitious cases created by an AI chatbot, ChatGPT, during a child custody case. The lawyer, Chong Ke, reportedly relied on ChatGPT for legal research but unknowingly cited non-existent cases in court filings. When confronted, Ke claimed she was unaware of the errors and apologized, stating she had no intention to mislead. While the judge overseeing the case acknowledged the mistake, he did not award special costs, citing Ke's corrective actions and lack of intent to deceive. However, the Law Society of British Columbia is investigating Ke's conduct, emphasizing the importance of lawyers using AI responsibly and in compliance with ethical standards.
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• Google’s AI chatbot, Gemini, is facing ongoing criticism for its responses, with some alleging that left-leaning workers overly influence Google’s internal culture. Critics argue that Gemini's responses, such as its reluctance to generate images of white people and its stance on various topics like Hitler's tweets and promoting meat and fossil fuels, reflect bias. Tech analyst Ben Thompson has called on Google to address this issue by removing employees who prioritize their political agenda over product quality, including CEO Sundar Pichai. While Google has fixed some problematic responses, such as Gemini's comparison of Hitler and Elon Musk's tweets, the challenge persists. Gemini's struggles highlight the difficulty of managing AI systems and the potential backlash against attempts to influence their output.
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