Rise of the autonomous bots

Good afternoon human,

As mentioned last week, I am on holiday, so this edition will be a shorter one. Here are a few updates that I have found interesting this week.

🤖 Industry updates

• Autonomous Bots → Microsoft’s recent announcement highlights the introduction of autonomous agents within Microsoft 365 Copilot. These agents are designed to operate independently, automating tasks, learning, and collaborating with users to optimise workflows. They can be easily created by users without coding experience via Copilot Studio, making advanced AI accessible across sectors.

  For schools, this can streamline administrative tasks and enhance efficiency by automating routine processes.

• AI to Detect Broken Bones → National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) believes that AI can help bring greater efficiencies to the NHS. According to NICE, research suggests the technology is safe and could speed up diagnosis, relieving pressure on clinicians and reducing the need for some follow-up appointments.

• AI and Learning → Bradley Busch shared a really interesting video of Ethan Mollick discussing learning and AI. For me, it links nicely with the Bjorks’ idea on performance vs learning. Those that use AI think they are learning from it, but the reality is that they use it to answer a question and move on. Those that use AI are not thinking hard about it.
  

  We could find ourselves in some sort of paradox where we can accomplish more, but learn nothing about what it is that we are doing.

As ever, thanks for reading and keep on prompting! Mr A 🦾