As Chief Scientist at Microsoft, my job is to conduct research that makes work better. And it’s an incredibly exciting time to have that job. Study after study show that recent AI advances will enable people to work in substantially new and more productive ways, and we’ve just started to scratch the surface of what is possible with AI. In the 17 years I’ve spent at Microsoft, I’ve never been more optimistic about the opportunity for computing to change work for the better.
To Work Well with GenAI, You Need to Learn How to Talk to It
Remember: Your computer isn’t a person.
December 15, 2023
HBR Staff/Unsplash
Summary.
Natural language conversations are at the foundation of how people work — historically that’s been true for how we work together, and now that’s also true for how we work with our computers. These conversations contain a lot of knowledge that LLMs will unlock — your conversation with PowerPoint, for example, can now become an amazing presentation. But conversations aren’t just about facts and data, the grounding and structure are important as well — that is what prompt engineering is. And as we start to discover the new ways of work that LLMs unlock, this structure is going to evolve as well.
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Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Digital Intelligence . Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Excel in a world that's being continually transformed by technology.