• wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz
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    2 days ago

    Why the hell do they need to replace excel formulas with copilot?

    They already do what they’re supposed to do: deterministic math operations. There’s no need to “improve” on that with non-deterministic LLMs…

    • jj4211@lemmy.world
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      15 hours ago

      I could at least see an AI helper for people to determine the right formula to do what they want. The formula syntax can be daunting for folks. Of course, they still have to be able to read such a formula since GenAI screws that up too…

      I think they didn’t expect this so much as they imagined a spreadsheet with a ‘commentary field’ and the ability to ‘sum up the comments’ or to ‘provide a sentiment grade based on the comments’.

      To be honest, I don’t go deep into spreadsheeting like others, I prefer other UI interactions when things get complicated.

    • Rooster326@programming.dev
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      2 days ago

      Because Microsoft spent $35 Billion* dollars on AI and needs to see a return on the investment or they’re fucked.

      • And rising
      • wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz
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        2 days ago

        What, do they think this is gonna convince more people to sign up for their license? Or do they expect people to pay more for it now?

        Either way, it’s likely to backfire as people abandon ship for FOSS alternatives…

        • megopie@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          15 hours ago

          It gives them excuse to dark pattern people in to a higher subscription tier, also shareholder want to see them selling AI products, and they want to keep their share price high because the decision makers are all payed based on market cap.

          Shareholders want to see them selling AI products because they also have stock in Nvidia. More AI products, more demand for data centers, more demand for Nvidia chips. Everyone else pays more for less so people who live on investments can fund a lavish lifestyle.

          • wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz
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            11 hours ago

            When are we all going to say we’ve finally had enough and start flaying these bastards in public squares?

            Like, the world can’t handle more data centers. It can’t handle the ones we already have. And billionaire oligarchs are already impeding renewable energy initiatives, so it’s not like they’re going to become more stable any time soon.

            I mean, I know their assets are protected by state-sanctioned violence with in some cases military-grade equipment. But other than that, what’s stopping us from stringing these plutocrats up by their ankles and letting them slowly bleed out, while we reclaim the means of living that they’ve bled from us and hoarded for themselves?

            Seize their wealth and reinvest it in the communities they’ve disenfranchised. Seize their facilities and machinery and place them under the stewardship of worker co-ops. Seize their data centers, wipe their spyware/adware-begotten profiles of everyone, and redistribute most of their equipment for dirt cheap, concentrate the rest in a new infrastructure for a decentralized internet governed by open-source co-ops. Powered by renewables, of course.

            Like, the solutions are so simple. We’ve asked nicely for them, and they weren’t willing to work with us. They have no right to destroy the planet and our lives and livelihoods. When are we going to defend ourselves against this corporate greed/madness?

        • technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          2 days ago

          Either way, it’s likely to backfire as people abandon ship for FOSS alternatives…

          Legal entities will continue to use shitty proprietary software because of the liability. It’s more important to have a legal backstop than actual security… It’s security theater. It’s a big part of why nothing is actually secure in USA. Casino griftonomics.

          (I’ve been thinking about this in terms of the MIC too. Total failure to defend against Iran. They’re pouring endless money into these grifters who almost never have to demonstrate quality/effectiveness.)

        • Aeder@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          IIRC Calc, which is one of the alternatives that is closest to parity still needs a significant investment of time and resources to be on par with pre-Copilot Excel when it comes to performance and functionality.