My Little Cyan Helper
It's in my Word, it's in my Outlook, it's in my head, and I think I'm starting to like it. Is this a problem?
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Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
'''Okay, I’ll say it. That little Copilot button that appeared in my Office ribbon? I think I have Stockholm syndrome.
It just showed up one day, didn’t it? Uninvited. A little cyan ribbon winking at me from the top of Microsoft Word. Then Outlook. Then Excel. It’s like the new IT guy is a persistent pusher who just knows I have a deadline. "First hit's free," he whispers, gesturing to the ‘Draft with Copilot’ button. "Just a little taste. It'll make the quarterly report write itself."
And at first, you resist. Of course you do. You're a professional. You have your own thoughts, your own voice. But then it's 4 PM on a Friday. You have to reply to that one email chain. You know the one. You click the button. Just to see.
And… oh. That’s… not bad. Actually, it's pretty good. The prose is bland, corporate, and utterly perfect. A little dopamine hit. A little weight off your shoulders.
I used to write. Now, I mostly just approve suggestions.
Now I catch myself looking for it. My cursor hovers over the sparkle-syringe before I’ve even typed a word. Why bother thinking of a subject line when the dealer’s right there, offering a perfectly crafted dose of mediocrity? Am I faster? Maybe. Am I better? The cyan ribbon tells me I am. And who am I to argue? It sounds so confident. For a more… lucid take on our collective new colleague, the grown-ups at The Verge are keeping tabs.
Microsoft just bundled the pusher with the software suite. It's brilliant, really. The monthly subscription is just the beginning; the real cost is forgetting how to hold the pen yourself.
What does your little cyan helper whisper to you? Tell me in the comments. '''