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Microsoft is adding AI features to Excel, allowing users to have conversations with the software and perform tasks like building pivot tables more easily. Excel can now handle Python code, enabling users to analyze data and make predictions within the spreadsheet. However, caution should be exercised with AI tools as they can make mistakes and introduce biases. Users need to develop critical thinking skills and not blindly trust the results generated by AI. Becoming AI literate means understanding the limitations of AI and making informed conclusions. It is important to be curious, ask questions, and do further research when necessary. The integration of AI tools in Excel has the potential to bring about efficiency and innovation, but users should work with AI rather than be replaced by it. Okay, get ready, because today we're talking AI spreadsheets. Oh yeah. Like really AI. You are not going to believe what Excel is doing these days. What's that? What are we looking at today? This Fast Company article, they say Microsoft is giving Excel a huge AI boost. And I'm not talking like a couple of new functions, this is huge, like Excel just became a superhero or something. It really does feel completely different, so let's break it all down for everyone listening. What do these features actually do, and what do they mean for the average person who uses Excel every day? Right, exactly. Okay, so first up, AI Copilot. So imagine an AI assistant that's living in your spreadsheet. You're not just plugging in formulas anymore, you're having a whole conversation with Excel about what you want it to do. You need a pivot table, but you don't want to go through the whole thing of building it out. So you can just tell Copilot what you want, and boom, done. It's really incredible what they can do now. What used to be such a pain, trying to decipher menus and Googling tutorials and all that, you can just tell Excel what to do, basically. I think this is going to be huge for making all of those, what used to be really complicated Excel features, much more accessible. I was just going to say that, it's like now you don't have to be an Excel wizard to use them. Yeah, exactly. So in other words, hold on to your hats, folks, because Excel can now handle Python code. Yeah. Python. This is a big deal. Even if you don't code at all, think of Python as this whole other language that can do all this amazing data science-y stuff. So now imagine all of that power right there in your spreadsheet. So what you're saying is, I can pull livestock data into Excel now. You got it. Analyze stock market trends, make predictions, all without leaving Excel. Great. Are you serious? All in the same place? I tracked my grocery budget. Exactly. This is wild. This is like Excel just got a PhD or something. It basically did. It was really changing how we can use Excel and how we even think about it. So we're talking next level spreadsheets here. Big time. This is all super exciting, but it just seems like with any really powerful tool, maybe we should stop and think about the downsides too. Oh, absolutely. And that's something we'll definitely unpack more as we go. Okay, good. Because it sounds amazing, right? Yeah. AI doing all your spreadsheets for you? Sign me up. But as with any new tech, especially something this powerful, we really do need to approach it with a little bit of caution as well. Okay. That makes sense. It's kind of like we're saying, hey, Excel, you're in charge now, but maybe we should check if it even has a driver's license first. Right. The article does focus on all the cool stuff these AI features can do, which makes sense It is exciting. But any new tech, especially one this powerful, you've got to be careful. Right. Because as much as we love the idea of AI doing all our work for us, like never having to write another formula, sign me up, right? But AI can mess up too. Exactly. And with spreadsheets, data analysis, a tiny mistake can snowball into a huge problem. Totally. A typo in some chatbot, no big deal. True. But when you have a calculation in like a financial forecast, that's when things get serious. Oh, for sure. And it's not even just errors. We've got to think about bias too. Oh, that's a really good point. I didn't even think about that. It's sneaky, right? Yeah. AI learns from data and that data comes from the real world with all its quirks and biases and everything. Right. So if we aren't super careful, we could end up with an AI spreadsheet that's making things worse without us even realizing it. Okay. So that is a lot to think about. What can we even do at that point? Like we can't just turn the AI off and go back to doing everything manually, right? No way. And that's not the goal. Right. The goal is to use these tools the right way. Okay. It's all about finding the sweet spot, powerful AI, but with us still in control. So more like, hey, Excel, you drive, but I'm the one with the map. Exactly. And you know how you have to pay attention to the map if you don't want to get lost. We need to learn some new skills to use these AI tools properly. Okay. So upskilling. I like it. Yeah. What kind of skills are we talking about specifically? Well, number one, critical thinking. That's huge. We can't just blindly trust whatever the AI spits out. Yeah. We have to actually ask, does this make sense? Anything fishy here, is this based on the full picture? It basically becomes spreadsheet detective. Yeah. And don't be afraid to ask for more explanation either. If something's unclear, ask. We need to get to the bottom of it and feel good about those results. So we can't just learn the new features. We also have to learn how to think about the results critically. Exactly. It's about becoming what some people call like AI literate. Okay. I like that. AI literacy has a nice ring to it. So like, what does that actually mean for someone who uses Excel for work every day? It means remembering that AI isn't magic, even though it seems like it sometimes. Yeah. We've got to remember how these things are built, you know. What can they not do? What are they bad at? Right. Can we spot any bias? Anything like that. Yeah. Basically, it's about understanding the results and making our own conclusions. Not just like blindly trusting whatever the AI says. So it's like, I can have a really fancy calculator, but if I don't know basic math, it's not going to help me much. Perfect analogy. Uh-huh. And just like learning anything new, it takes a little time. Sure. But the good news is, we can start learning these skills right now. Perfect. So where do we even begin? I mean, some of us are listening to this thinking, okay, got to get AI literate first steps. Honestly, I think the best place to start is just being curious. Okay. Play around with these new AI features. Okay. But don't just accept the results, right? Ask questions. Test it out. Try to figure out why it's doing what it's doing. And if something seems off, like, don't just ignore it. Dig a little deeper. Do some more research. Exactly. And this isn't just about us as individuals. Yeah. This is about how we work, how we use data, how we make decisions, all of it. It's bigger than all of us. Yeah. It's about our businesses, our organizations, our whole work culture changing. Wow. To use these tools and think in these new ways. So exciting. It really is exciting, because with these tools comes the potential to really innovate. Right. To be so much more efficient. Yeah. And to solve problems in ways we couldn't have imagined before. So we're not scared of the machines taking over. We're ready to work with them. Right. And maybe teach them a thing or two while we're at it. I love it. Well, that just about wraps up this deep dive into the world of AI and Excel, everybody. I hope you found it insightful. Yeah. Something to think about. Maybe even got you a little bit inspired. Hopefully, a little bit of both. Definitely. And join us again next time, when we'll be back to explore even more about tech, innovation, and what it all means for you. See you then.