Corporate vice president for modern work and business applications, Microsoft
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At this past year’s Charter Workplace Summit, Spataro said that the life he’s living is “the life many workers will live in about two years.” With access to the tech company’s AI assistant Copilot, Spataro got an early look into how generative AI could change work and management, and is a prolific speaker and writer on what managers need to succeed with AI. (Among his more counterintuitive insights is an explanation of why older workers are often more prepared to work with generative AI tools.) “To get your organization ready for AI, you need to turn every employee into a manager by arming them with the managerial experience and skills they’ll need to thrive in this new era,” writes Spataro.
Right now, what is your biggest question or curiosity about the future of work?
I think it’s important to emphasize that when it comes to generative AI at work, we really are just out of the starting blocks. AI marks a new dynamic in the way humans work with machines, and it’s already prompting us to think about how we can more effectively dedicate human brainpower and ingenuity to tasks that only humans can do. I’m excited to see how that new dynamic will play out, because I ultimately think it’s going to lift the weight of work so people can focus on the highest value tasks, which also happen to be the ones that are most rewarding and fulfilling.
What is one problem leaders should be focused on solving in the year ahead?
The potential of AI is tremendous, but leaders and organizations as a whole are only going to reap those benefits if employees can effectively integrate AI into their day-to-day workflows. While many aspects of using AI are intuitive, make no mistake—this is an entirely new way of working and there is a learning curve. Leaders need to prioritize helping their employees skill in this new era, so that working with AI becomes second nature.