AI could wipe out entire job categories, customer support roles most at risk; Microsoft’s new option to switch from Windows 10 to a new Windows 11 device ideal for people who hate OneDrive; Windows 11 25H2 has a new option to remove all unwanted Microsoft apps… and More!
Every day, we scan the tech world for interesting news, sometimes from outside the tech world. Every Thursday, we feature news articles that grabbed our attention over the past week. We hope you find this week’s ‘Thursday Newsbytes’ informative and interesting!
Sam Altman warns AI could wipe out entire job categories, customer support roles most at risk
“It does not make mistakes. It’s very quick”
We’ve heard plenty of warnings from CEOs about how generative AI will wipe out swathes of jobs, but these predictions are even more ominous when they come from Sam Altman. The OpenAI CEO said during his trip to Washington that the technology could erase entire job categories, with customer support roles the most at risk.
Speaking at the Capital Framework for Large Banks conference at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Altman addressed one of the most hotly debated issues around generative AI: its impact on jobs.
Altman said that while “no one knows what happens next,” he does believe that “Some areas, again, I think just like totally, totally gone,” replaced by AI agents.
Altman highlighted customer support roles as the job category most at risk. “That’s a category where I just say, you know what, when you call customer support, you’re on target and AI, and that’s fine.”
Altman said that AI agents are already transforming the customer service industry, making people’s jobs obsolete in the process. He told Michelle Bowman, Federal Reserve vice-chair for supervision, that “it’s like a super-smart, capable person. There’s no phone tree, there’s no transfers. It can do everything that any customer support agent at that company could do. It does not make mistakes. It’s very quick. You call once, the thing just happens. It’s done.”
Microsoft provides key details on how PC-to-PC migration feature is a nifty alternative to Backup via OneDrive
Microsoft has provided more details on how its PC-to-PC migration feature will actually work when it comes to switching over to a new Windows 11 PC.
The feature is designed to smooth over the upgrade to a new PC, and make it as easy as possible – albeit with some caveats – and clearly the focus is on helping Windows 10 users switch to Windows 11 (assuming their hardware supports the latter OS).
Previously, PC-to-PC migration has been seen in testing, and Microsoft has put the shell of the experience in the release version of Windows 11 (with the latest update) – however, it isn’t yet functional.
At least we now know exactly how the ability will work thanks to a support post Microsoft has uploaded (as Thurrott.com spotted). So, let’s dive into all the key details you need to know.The old PC and new PC you’re transferring over to will need to be on the same network, either connected via Ethernet (wired, to your router) or wireless (on the same Wi-Fi network).
Both machines will also need to be signed into a Microsoft account – so with the new PC, you’ll have to sign in to an account during setup….
As Microsoft begins to transition Windows 10 users to Windows 11, the open-source community is starting to speak up. While they were always vocal about the Redmond giant’s practices (and who can blame them), they seem to have ramped up their efforts after Microsoft tried to convince its Windows 10 users to discard their PCs and buy new Windows 11 ones.
LibreOffice has been taking potshots at Microsoft’s practices recently, and this time, they’re targeting the company’s XML formatting. The open-source office productivity developer accuses Microsoft of making its Office XML file format “artificially complex” and acts as a “lock-in strategy.”
It has criticized Microsoft’s aggressive practices, licensing models, and telemetry, noting that Linux + LibreOffice is actually the superior combo.
LibreOffice claims Microsoft is trying to keep people penned in with Office
Some people may wonder why this is a problem, to which LibreOffice states that not knowing of the issue in the first place is why this happened in the first place:
To illustrate how this translates into a lock-in strategy, consider a railway system where the tracks are accessible to all, but the main train manufacturer imposes its own incredibly complicated control system. In theory, anyone could build a train compatible with the tracks, but the control system specifications are so convoluted that only the main train manufacturer can ultimately offer rail services…
Windows 11 25H2 has a new option to remove all unwanted Microsoft apps
It is not long until the next big update for Windows 11 is released. We don’t yet have an exact date for the availability of Windows 11 25H2 (although October looks likely a candidate) but we already know a lot about what to expect from it.
One of the changes that will be welcomed by many users, but business and enterprise users in particular, is the arrival of a new way to remove all unwanted Microsoft apps in one fell swoop. Via Group Policy, the new Remove Default Microsoft Store Packages policy helps to debloat Windows 11 in a flash.
There have long been complaints about the growing footprint of Windows, often focusing on the large number of built-in Microsoft apps that many people have no need for. This is especially true in larger organization and enterprise environments where there is a particular importance placed on keeping things to a minimum.
Removing unwanted apps from a Windows 11 installation…
There are lots of goodies with this new optional update
Windows 11 has a new update in preview, and it’s a hefty download which packs in a lot of features, many of which are AI-related (and for Copilot+ PCs only, with their beefy NPUs).
This is patch KB5062660 for Windows 11 24H2, and it should be noted that this is an optional (preview) update, meaning that it’s still in testing, so the various features may still have bugs (install it at your own risk, in other words).
Everything should be fully knocked into shape by the time the full update for August arrives, which is when all these features will be officially deployed (or should be – although some are on a ‘controlled rollout’, meaning they’ll be drip-fed out).
So, with those caveats out of the way, what have we got to look forward to with this optional update (and next month’s full upgrade)?
Here’s my pick of the top features rolling out with KB5062660 (again, bear in mind that some are for Copilot+ laptops only)…
Thanks for reading this week’s Thursday Newbytes. We hope these articles were informative, interesting, fun, and helpful.
