AI is this year’s flaming hot product category. Microsoft is not only one of the biggest first movers, it’s also the most aggressive at deploying this technology internally. However, a high percentage of AI deployments are failing, and these things aren’t cheap. The cause of the problems appears to be a combination of a lack of experience by a critical mass of those working on the product, and tools that aren’t yet capable of doing what the company needs done.
Generative AI, not AGI, means AI isn’t yet capable of doing everything you want done, nor are most of the people providing consulting and other services fully up to speed on the products, services and best practices surrounding these deployments.
Microsoft Ignite, which is next week, is one of the few, maybe only, places this year to learn about what is and is not working and where there will likely be a critical mass of companies and people who have deployed AI successfully and unsuccessfully.
These people are worth their weight in gold in terms of the knowledge they have on what works, what doesn’t, and what products, services and which vendors are capable of doing the job and which aren’t. In addition, this is the time of year viruses (human viruses) tend to spread so being extra careful about things like shaking hands and eating finger food could keep you from getting sick this year, as well.
Why Attending Ignite in Person this Year Is Uniquely Beneficial
Attending Ignite remotely is certainly worth it to learn about Microsoft tools and hear from vetted Microsoft customers as to how and where they deployed Copilot and other Microsoft AI tools successfully. However, you likely won’t hear about where they failed, where Microsoft, or anyone else, dropped the ball or which vendors are more hype than reality.
I’ve been particularly concerned that some OEMs and service providers are farther ahead on messaging their capabilities than they are on building adequate competence. And the only way you’ll find this critical piece of information out is if you attend the event in person and talk to your peers who have deployed or tried and failed to deploy AI this year.
Learning from the mistakes of others, particularly when it costs around $100M to spin up a custom Large Language Model (LLM), rather than making those mistakes yourself can make the difference between whether you get a performance bonus or a pink slip after the AI deployment attempt.
Practices that will surface will include reducing complexity significantly before deploying and making a significant effort to improve quality before you put the AI tool into production. While AI has proven it can significantly improve productivity, it can also crater quality, and you don’t want to be creating problems for your users or IT teams at machine speeds because they often can’t deal with quality problems at human speeds.
So, the reason you should attend in person is to learn from your peers’ successes and failures and be better prepared and have a higher probability your deployment will be successful as opposed to the embarrassment that most seem to be experiencing.
Staying Healthy
We have flu, colds, Covid, and now Bird Flu spreading at the moment, and events like this create a high risk that you’ll come home sick and share that sickness with your family, friends and co-workers. Typically, this time of year, I’d recommend you attend any event like Ignite remotely, but as noted above, your job might depend on your attending in person so you can get the critical success/failure information you need to ensure your own success.
I’ve learned over the years there are practices to limit your exposure and avoid getting sick. First, any event or talk you can attend remotely that doesn’t provide social engagement, watch it remotely. It is often easier to take notes and follow along with a presentation if you aren’t in the audience. Go to mixers but wash your hands and eat before you go so you aren’t tempted to eat the finger food which could have been contaminated by those that prepared it or those around you. Avoid shaking hands, but if you do, have hand sanitizer ready and apply it after the handshake so you not only don’t get a virus, but you don’t spread it to others.
When you get home, act as if you are sick in terms of keeping your distance from your spouse and kids for several days so that if you did pick up a virus, you won’t spread it to your family. Consider working from home for those days so you don’t spread it at work either. I’d suggest avoiding alcohol while at the event, particularly if you over-drink. Your goal is to learn, and alcohol not only lowers your resistance to viruses, it lowers your ability to retain information and lowers your inhibitions, which can result in avoidable problems after the event.
Several of my peers were terminated after large events because of excessive drinking and bad behavior. You don’t want that outcome because it not only could cost you your job but make you relatively unemployable. Marriage and employment-ruining affairs are far from uncommon at events like this, so you want to avoid getting drunk and avoid using the event as an excuse to do something that your boss or spouse will have issues with. This problem too often occurs with younger employees, and were I still a manager, part of my warning pitch would be on this topic. I once had two of my employees, one married, have a secret affair, and I was traumatized when her husband found out and decided to confront my other employee at work. It damaged both of their careers and resulted in changing my career’s direction.
Wrapping Up:
If you can go to Ignite this year in person I’d recommend doing so to not only learn about Microsoft’s new products, services and innovations, but the practices of peers who have deployed or attempted to deploy AI. Realize that events like this where people come from all over the country and world can also be massive illness changing events. We have a number of viruses spreading at the moment and large groups of people avoiding vaccines. Be prudent when you are in groups and avoid behaviors that could make you sick, damage your careers or create problems for your family.
I hope you can attend in person this year and that you remain safe and healthy as we enter the holiday season. I hope this event meets your needs and expectations and that you stay safe, successful and healthy through the holiday season.
