[Real Beat] 'AI Killer App' Like Bizicalc Is About to Appear [Office Shift] (32)

MS and Google Face Off in AI-Powered Work Software
Key Focus on Reducing Workload... "Will Accelerate Adoption of 4-Day Workweek"

Editor's Note[Jjinbit] is a shortened form of 'Jung Hyunjin's Business Trend' and 'Real Business Trend,' a segment that showcases trends in the changing nature of work. Within Jjinbit, the segment 'Office Shift' carefully examines the changes in offices triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and aims to lay the groundwork for exploring answers to new work styles through experiments we have conducted together. It comes to you every Saturday or Sunday. After 40 installments, it will also be available as a book.

Technology changes the office. During the COVID-19 period, employees were able to work without gathering in physical spaces thanks to laptops, the internet, messengers, and video conferencing technologies. The term 'Zoom fatigue,' referring to exhaustion from excessive video meetings, emerged precisely because the technology was developed first. The rise of 'digital nomads' who can work anywhere while traveling the world, and global companies holding frequent video conferences, became possible because technology permeated our workplaces.

The technology currently transforming work trends is artificial intelligence (AI). Since the development of the generative AI ChatGPT in November last year, the world has been swept up in a generative AI craze.

One immediate change that employees can feel is the transformation of work software. Microsoft (MS) and Google, competing at the forefront of the AI chatbot market, announced in March that after integrating AI chatbots into search engines, they would next apply them to work software. While search engines target the general public, work software targets a clear audience?employees and companies?where AI chatbot technology can dominate market share.

A well-developed piece of software becomes a definite 'cash cow.' For example, over 30% of MS's revenue comes from productivity and business-related products, including the Office suite.

The way work software is developed changes the office landscape. The core is to increase productivity and efficiency. It should alleviate the pain points employees experience and help them accomplish more in less time. When that happens, employees' love and attention pour in instantly.

A product or service that reshapes the market upon release due to its popularity is called a 'killer app.' Will a killer app based on AI chatbots for work software emerge soon?

◆ 'Predecessor of Excel' and 'First Killer App' VisiCalc Changed the Office

About 40 years ago, in 1979, a killer app that shook the way workers worldwide worked appeared: the first electronic spreadsheet, VisiCalc. VisiCalc is the predecessor of Excel, the spreadsheet software widely used today within MS Office. With VisiCalc's arrival, personal computers?once considered luxurious hobby tools?became popular, and companies rushed to bring computers into their offices. John Norton, a columnist for The Guardian and professor at the UK Open University, recalled VisiCalc when witnessing the ChatGPT craze in January.

The appearance of VisiCalc running on an IBM PC (Photo by Dan Bricklin, the developer's homepage)

How did the innovative VisiCalc bring personal computers into offices? Until the 1970s, spreadsheets for entering and processing numerical or textual data were created with paper and pencil. These sheets calculated various financial variables like raw material costs and labor costs, but since everything was handwritten, any change in variables required rewriting everything. It was cumbersome and time-consuming.

Dan Bricklin, a programmer attending Harvard Business School, witnessed this and in 1979, together with colleague Bob Frankston, developed a program to solve the problems of paper spreadsheets. The program allowed entering a single variable that would automatically update all linked figures. This reduced both spreadsheet creation time and calculation time by automatically adjusting variables.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), in a 2019 article commemorating VisiCalc's 40th anniversary, evaluated, "While electronic spreadsheets are familiar now, at the time, the program was such a novel idea that one had to experience it firsthand to understand how it worked."

Such productivity- and efficiency-enhancing work software was a huge success. It also changed the office environment. At the time, VisiCalc only ran on Steve Jobs's Apple II computer. Although more expensive than other computers, companies lined up to buy Apple II because it was essential for using VisiCalc. Jobs even said that VisiCalc powered Apple II's success.

Thus, companies eagerly purchased personal computers, and the 1980s saw a revolution in office space and work methods. At the core was the software technology VisiCalc.

The advent of the electronic spreadsheet VisiCalc also disrupted accounting jobs. The number of accountants who manually prepared spreadsheets drastically decreased. According to a 2019 BBC podcast report, 40 years after VisiCalc's launch in the U.S. in 1980, the number of accountants decreased by 400,000 by 2019. At the same time, 600,000 new jobs for general accountants increased. Machines took over spreadsheet preparation, enabling accountants to perform a wider variety of tasks. The emergence of new technology restructured the labor market.

◆ MS vs. Google Showdown at Year-End? The Battle for Work Software

So, could AI chatbot-integrated work software become a killer app like VisiCalc? MS and Google declared work software innovation in March and are accelerating technology development. With both companies expected to commercialize their software by year-end, attention is on whether their showdown will change how we work.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

MS, a 'work software powerhouse,' unveiled 'Copilot' for MS 365 and is conducting experiments. MS explains that with simple natural language commands, Copilot can create Excel graphs and quickly produce PowerPoint materials. Hundreds of companies are currently testing it, with consumer software expected to be released around year-end.

Google also plans to commercialize 'Duet AI' for Google Workspace, its office service suite, by year-end. At its annual developer conference in May, Google introduced Duet AI, explaining that when using Gmail, AI drafts replies; in Google Sheets, it automates data classification; and in Google Slides, it understands text and creates customized images.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Besides MS and Google, Amazon, Salesforce, and Oracle are also releasing AI-related work software products to enhance workplace efficiency and productivity. These products mainly focus on ▲ summarizing meeting content ▲ generating code ▲ writing emails, messages, and product descriptions ▲ searching company data.

Ultimately, what employees expect is a reduction in work burden. MS stated in a May report, "The influx of data, emails, meetings, and alerts has exceeded human capacity to process them, and work speed is increasing," adding, "In an era where creativity is the new productivity, such digital work is more than just inconvenient." This implies that AI-equipped work software can take on this role.

Bern Elliott, Vice President and Analyst at market research firm Gartner, told The New York Times (NYT), "(AI-equipped work software) will be tools people use to handle tasks they have done so far."

◆ Will AI Support the Adoption of a Four-Day Workweek?

If a killer app emerges in the work software sector, it could trigger a shift in work methods.

Both MS and Google promote that boring tasks will be delegated to AI, allowing people to focus on fun and meaningful work. Some economists agree. Carl Benedict Frey, professor at Oxford University, recently told U.S. economic media Business Insider, "Some of the boring parts of work could disappear due to AI," adding, "This allows people to generate good ideas, ask appropriate questions, and focus on more interesting tasks."

As work-related technology advances, work styles are likely to change naturally. Since AI increases productivity, there is speculation that adopting a four-day workweek will become easier.

Christopher Pissarides, Nobel laureate and professor at the London School of Economics, said in an April interview with Bloomberg, "We can expand our well-being beyond work, enjoy more leisure, and easily transition to a four-day workweek." He emphasized, "Technology changes rapidly, but if companies adopt it slowly, workers' transitions will be less painful."

However, not all outlooks are optimistic. Just as VisiCalc led to a significant reduction in accountants, economists predict that some jobs will be hit hard. Oded Netzer, professor at Columbia Business School, assessed, "Jobs expected to be replaced by AI include content marketing, call center staff, and basic coding?tasks with high flexibility suitable for remote work."