Advait Sarkar

Unfortunately, thinking wasn't actually a problem.

It's like we invented a cure for exercise and then wondered why we're out of breath all the time.

It doesn't have to be this way.

Beyond AI as an assistant, I believe that AI should be a tool for thought.

AI should challenge, not obey.

And I believe that right at this moment, we are at a critical juncture where the world of work is poised to be transformed by generative AI.

And we must act now to shape and drive that transformation towards humanistic values.

Of these two diverging roads, we must take the one less traveled.

Beyond getting the job done,

A tool for thought helps us better understand the job.

Beyond getting it done faster, it helps us get it done better.

Beyond getting us to the right answers, a tool for thought helps us ask the right questions.

Beyond automating known processes, it helps us explore the unknown.

What does this look like?

What I'm about to show you is a prototype developed by my colleagues and me at the Tools for Thought team at Microsoft Research in Cambridge.

Now please bear in mind that this is a live research prototype.

It's not a product.

And it's just one of a series of explorations that our team is conducting to study how different modes of working with AI can enhance human thought.

So let's look at a fictitious example.

Clara and her colleagues run a company