Can we make work meetings more bearable?

Jane Wakefield, a technology reporter, discusses how Jaime Teevan, the chief scientist at Microsoft, believes that AI can revolutionize work meetings. Jaime Teevan had a significant meeting with her CEO, Satya Nadella, and Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI. This meeting was so impactful that she screamed in her car afterward, overwhelmed with excitement about AI's potential. The meeting showcased the capabilities of OpenAI's AI chatbot, ChatGPT, which convinced Ms. Teevan that AI could transform many aspects of work, including meetings. She explains that while computers have traditionally made tedious tasks more efficient, AI can generate new ideas and reflect on them, offering a qualitatively different and promising opportunity. However, most work meetings are not as exhilarating as the one Ms. Teevan experienced. Elon Musk once remarked that excessive meetings are a problem for large companies and tend to worsen over time, a sentiment shared by many. Research indicates that 72% of meetings are ineffective, and brain activity decreases during Zoom meetings, according to studies by Yale University and University College London. The coronavirus pandemic forced many businesses to shift their meetings online in 2020, making video meetings on platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet commonplace. Ms. Teevan views this shift as fortuitous, as it created an opportunity for AI to positively impact meetings. The major video meeting providers now offer AI-powered assistants: Zoom has AI Companion, Teams has Copilot, and Meet has Duet AI. These AI tools can transcribe meetings, suggest questions, summarize discussions, and remind participants of who is present. Husayn Kassai, the founder of Quench AI, predicts that in the future, everyone will have an AI coach in their meetings. He believes that meetings will become more productive as people will be better informed and able to make valuable judgments. AI can help participants understand information and make better decisions. Kassai also envisions AI acting as a moderator, providing feedback after meetings. For instance, if someone dominates the conversation or remains silent, the AI can highlight this. Ms. Teevan claims that Copilot is already significantly impacting video meetings, enabling people to summarize meetings four times faster. However, AI is not infallible and can make mistakes. Microsoft is working diligently to ensure that Copilot provides the best possible answers. AI needs to quickly learn who the user is, their job role, and the answers they require. Ms. Teevan frequently asks AI what questions she should pose in a meeting. To provide accurate answers, the AI must understand that she is a research scientist and executive at Microsoft. Business psychologist Jess Barker explains that many people dislike work meetings because they are time-consuming and ineffective. She is skeptical that AI will completely eliminate this frustration. Barker suggests that new sources of annoyance may arise, such as colleagues not attending meetings and relying on AI to participate on their behalf, or consistently late attendees using AI to catch up. This could lead to increased resentment and mistrust among colleagues. Despite these concerns, Ms. Teevan is confident that AI will enhance meetings. It can help people feel less overwhelmed, initiate tasks, and generate new ideas. AI can offer fresh perspectives and support, ultimately improving the meeting experience.