Microsoft Copilot draws backlash after AI chief says AI would soon automate white-collar jobs within 18 months

Microsoft Copilot has drawn backlash after Microsoft artificial intelligence (AI) CEO Mustafa Suleyman predicted that within 12 to 18 months, most tasks in white-collar work would be fully automated by AI—jobs where people are “sitting down at a computer.”

He described such roles as “either being a lawyer or an accountant or a project manager or a marketing person” in a conversation with the Financial Times earlier this year.

In the same interview, when asked about AI hallucinations and whether they could ever be fully eliminated, he said he believed they would be “largely eliminated,” saying the technology had improved at an “unbelievable” rate.

Instead of getting convinced, netizens, however, poked fun at “how well Copilot is going”. One commenter even quipped: “Copilot is obviously where he got this information from.”

Another called the tool “useless,” saying, “Copilot output takes me more time to correct than if I were to just do it myself.” Others, meanwhile, compared it to rival AI tools on the market, including Claude.

Backlash against AI tools like Copilot has recently pushed top tech executives to soften earlier claims about the technology’s ability to replace jobs. While AI primarily benefits tech companies, including Nvidia, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNA last month that CEOs who blame AI for job cuts are “just too lazy” and do it to “sound smart,” but they only end up “scaring people.” /TISG

Read also: MOM: AI is ‘augmenting but not replacing’ jobs; no indication of significant job displacement due to AI ‘at this point’