
Future of work: Human-agent teams built to scale
Organisations and Gen Z are now talking about 'working smarter and sharper' and not just working harder. Thanks to artificial intelligence (AI), employees are making use of AI to work smarter.
Microsoft in its special report titled 'Breaking down the infinite workday' says frontier firms are putting the Pareto Principle into practice, thereby focusing on the 20% of work that delivers 80% of the outcomes. 'AI makes this not only possible but scalable. By deploying AI and agents to streamline low-value tasks—status meetings, routine reports, admin churn—leaders can reclaim time for what moves the business: deep work, fast decisions, and focused execution,' it says.
In organisations, there are various teams that take care of different functions such as engineering, finance, sales etc. The report says, 'But with expertise available on demand through AI and agents, rigid structures add unnecessary friction. Take a product launch: content lives in marketing, data in analytics, budget in finance, and messaging with comms. A simple update like a price adjustment can take days and multiple meetings. It's time to move from the org chart to the Work Chart—an agile, outcome-driven model in which lean teams form around a goal and use AI to fill skill gaps and move fast.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
41 minutes ago
- Time of India
New feature makes dating more social and friend-friendly
Tinder Launches 'Double Date': The New Way to MakeConnections with Your Bestie Tinder has launched a new feature called 'Double Date', allowing users to pair up with a friend and match with other pairs. The update is aimed at making dating more social and less stressful by turning it into a group experience. The feature follows the success of the dating app's other social tools like 'Tinder Matchmaker' and 'Share My Date', which also involve friends and family in the dating process. With Double Date , users can now explore the app in a more relaxed and supportive way, alongside someone they trust. To use the new feature, users tap the feature icon and select up to three friends to form a pair. From there, they swipe through other duos. If either person in a pair likes another pair, and the feeling is mutual, a group chat is created to help start the conversation. Tinder tested the feature in several countries before launch. Results showed that nearly 90% of Double Date profiles came from users under 29, with Gen Z making up over half of Tinder's global user base. Women using the feature were three times more likely to like a pair than individual profiles, and users sent 35% more messages in 'Double Date' chats compared to one-on-one conversations. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo The new feature also brought in new and returning users. Around 15% of those who accepted a Double Date invitation were either new to the app or had recently reactivated their accounts. Tinder says the new feature aims to make dating more fun and collaborative, especially for younger users. One step to a healthier you—join Times Health+ Yoga and feel the change


India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
62% of Gen Z workers skeptical about AI's promise: Report
As AI tools become more common in classrooms and offices, a surprising trend has emerged: Generation Z is questioning their value. According to GoTo's Pulse of Work 2025 report, 62% of Gen Z workers believe AI is overhyped. That's not just a passing complaint -- it's a cultural shift from enthusiasm to healthy SAVVY, NOT GULLIBLEDespite growing up online, Gen Z isn't against technology -- they're wary of overpromises. Having seen the crypto crash and the metaverse fizzle, they aren't easily convinced by when it comes to AI, they aren't impressed by flashy claims. They ask serious questions: Is it reliable? Does it understand real-world context? Can it truly replace human judgment? Often, the answer is no. As a result, they're cautious, cross-checking AI outputs rather than accepting them at face TOOLS, UNMET POTENTIAL Despite high interest, AI tools aren't being fully utilised. Across all age groups, 86% admit they're not using AI to its full potential -- Gen Z is only at 78%.Many young professionals can use ChatGPT or Zapier for basic tasks like editing and email drafting, but struggle to apply AI to strategic or analytical put, they have the tools, but not yet the use-cases or training to make them work HIDDEN COST OF LOW ADOPTIONadvertisementThe report highlights a staggering opportunity cost: workers spend about 2.6 hours per day -- 13 hours a week-- on tasks AI could handle, translating to $2.9 trillion in annual gains in the US Gen Z remains cautious. They're not afraid of AI, they're demanding it earn its place by solving real problems, not just boosting TRAINING AND TARGETED USEso reserved? For one, training is lacking. Nearly 82% of workers don't feel confident applying AI in everyday work, and 87% say they haven't received proper in worries over accuracy, 86% of employees doubt AI's outputs, and the result is a trust most current AI applications target repetitive tasks, while Gen Z is often asking for help with more complex challenges like decision-making and conflict DOUBT INTO DIRECTIONThe Gen Z response isn't rejection, t's a call to action. They want companies to match AI tools with real roles, not want clear policies, proper training, and access to advanced AI. And they're ready to choose tech tools over perks: 61% say they'd prefer access to AI tools over traditional workplace benefits.A SMARTER TECH FUTUREGen Z's stance on AI isn't anti-tech, it's pro-transparency. Their standard isn't blind adoption, it's than stopping AI's momentum, they're steering it toward practical, human-centered outcomes. In their hands, the future of AI may be less about hype and more about real benefit, and that's exactly what smart companies should aim for.


Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
Microsoft and OpenAI forged a close bond. Why it's now too big to last.
Once tied at the hip, Microsoft and OpenAI increasingly look like rivals seeking an amicable divorce. But like all separations, it could get messy, and this past week OpenAI indicated it's willing to get down in the mud. When Microsoft and OpenAI first got together in 2019, the most powerful artificial intelligence in the world was literally playing games. AlphaGo from Google's DeepMind lab was the first machine to beat human Go champions, but that's all it did. AI as we know it now was still in its research phase. Venture capital's focus was on cloud and cryptocurrency start-ups, but Microsoft saw something in the nonprofit AI lab called OpenAI, which had just come off a bruising leadership battle that saw Sam Altman prevail over Elon Musk. Without Musk's billions of dollars, OpenAI changed to a bespoke structure in which a for-profit AI lab is controlled by a nonprofit board. Investors' returns were capped at 100 times their stake. The reorganization cleared the way for Microsoft to invest $1 billion in OpenAI in 2019. Those funds fueled the release of ChatGPT in November 2022—the spark to the AI prairie fire that is still spreading. Soon thereafter, Microsoft invested another $10 billion, which supported OpenAI's rapid expansion. Since then, the bills have added up, given the high cost of scaling AI. At first the two companies were symbiotic. All of OpenAI's AI computing is done on Microsoft's Azure cloud. Microsoft has access to all of OpenAI's intellectual property, including its catalog of models that underpin a range of AI services Microsoft offers with its Copilot products. When the OpenAI nonprofit board ousted Altman in a November 2023 coup, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella backed Altman, a key endorsement that helped restore his post. But the partnership that made so much sense from 2019 to 2023 has now made each company too dependent on the other. OpenAI has large ambitions, and Sam Altman believes it will need unprecedented computing power to get there, more than Microsoft can provide. He would also like more control over the data-center buildout. Altman's company also has increasingly go-it alone ambitions—it says subscriptions and licenses to ChatGPT are on track to bring in $10 billion a year. For its part, Microsoft now relies on OpenAI as both a major customer and supplier. That's the kind of concentration risk that should make Microsoft executives nervous. 'OpenAI has become a significant new competitor in the technology industry," Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a February 2024 blog post. This was the first public indication that the relationship may not have been as cozy as some supposed. Microsoft began working on its own AI models that year, and in October 2024, it declined to participate in a $6.6 billion OpenAI funding round. In January, Microsoft and OpenAI modified their agreement so that Microsoft would no longer be OpenAI's exclusive cloud provider, but would retain right-of-first-refusal for all new business. Microsoft hasn't been exercising that right to any large degree—OpenAI subsequently signed new cloud deals with CoreWeave and Alphabet's Google Cloud, two Microsoft competitors. The same January day as the deal modification, Altman stood in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump, Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison, and SoftBank Group CEO Masa Son to announce Project Stargate, an ambitious plan to raise $500 billion for a massive cluster of AI data centers controlled by Altman. The partnership and high-profile event made clear that OpenAI had new friends and had moved beyond its Microsoft reliance. The partnership on display in the Oval Office led to a $40 billion March funding round, led by SoftBank. But it came with a string attached: $20 billion of it is contingent on OpenAI doing another reorganization into a public-benefit corporation by the end of the year, which would give SoftBank and other new investors more conventional investor rights. But there are key hurdles in the way of that restructuring and the $20 billion, including a lawsuit from Elon Musk and regulatory approvals from California, Delaware, and the federal government. But the biggest obstruction is that Microsoft has a large stake in the current OpenAI. To convert corporate structures, OpenAI will have to negotiate new terms, and in a ticking-clock scenario like this, Microsoft has all the leverage, which grows each day. According to The Wall Street Journal, negotiations are getting testy. The main point of contention is how much of the new OpenAI Microsoft will own. But there is also the matter of OpenAI's acquisition of an advanced AI coding tool, Windsurf. Under their current arrangement, Microsoft has access to all of OpenAI's IP, and that would include Windsurf. But OpenAI doesn't want this, because Microsoft has its own coding assistant, GitHub Copilot, and this puts the companies on another axis of competition. In a joint statement, Microsoft and OpenAI told Barron's: 'We have a long-term, productive partnership that has delivered amazing AI tools for everyone. Talks are ongoing and we are optimistic we will continue to build together for years to come." According to the Journal, OpenAI thinks it could deter Microsoft from dragging out negotiations by keeping open the possibility of publicly accusing Microsoft of antitrust violations and lobbying the White House to open an investigation. Since the Stargate announcement, Altman has had a close relationship with Trump. In this regard, the Journal article is a message from OpenAI: We aren't powerless here. This is how the divorce could get ugly. Microsoft could slow-walk the talks, and as the end of the year approaches, the pressure would grow on OpenAI to settle, or lose $20 billion in funding. OpenAI, meanwhile, could start pushing on its White House levers to encourage some type of Microsoft investigation—what the WSJ called its 'nuclear option." But like any nuclear exchange, no one would emerge victorious. Microsoft would be tarred, and OpenAI would still miss its $20 billion deadline. Since the launch of ChatGPT, AI in the U.S. has been dominated by the Microsoft-OpenAI alliance. The now inevitable breakup has everyone scrambling to fill the void. Write to Adam Levine at