Microsoft exec suggests AI agents will need to buy software licenses, just like employees
www.businessinsider.com
Are AI agents employees or tools? A Microsoft exec suggested they're new paid "seats," a shift that could reshape SaaS pricing — and spark pushback.

Buried in the story was a deceptively simple question: does your AI agent count as an employee?

At a recent conference, Microsoft executive Rajesh Jha floated a provocative idea. In a future where companies deploy fleets of AI agents, those agents may need their own identities — logins, inboxes, and even seats inside software systems. If so, AI wouldn’t shrink software revenue. It could expand it.

  • lowspeedchase@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    2·
    1 month ago

    Reads: Our flagship operating system and services have gotten to the point of such terrible shite for humans that we need to pivot to a less discerning customer base.

  • pinball_wizard@lemmy.zipEnglish
    1·
    1 month ago

    Absolutely everything in modern technology is rent seeking from people who really only need a free copy of Open Offfice Calc.

  • deliriousdreams@fedia.io
    1·
    1 month ago

    If the AI Agent counts as an employee then the company “employing” it is liable for what it does.

    My guess is the argument will be that “it’s a tool”, not an employee, and therefore they take no responsibility. Though I’m sure that argument is not going to fly for very long. If your air hammer harms someone because the person operating it wasn’t using it correctly, you’re still liable.

    • village604@adultswim.fanEnglish
      0·
      1 month ago

      What? Companies aren’t liable if the user doesn’t follow the instructions or warnings and hurts themselves.

      DeWalt isn’t liable because I was using their mini chainsaw while holding a branch with my bare hand and the saw bounced and cut me. I’m liable for being stupid.

      • deliriousdreams@fedia.io
        1·
        1 month ago

        I don’t think you understand the context of the situation I was proposing. I am not supposing that DeWalt would be liable. But let’s say we work in a shop together and I’m using an air hammer to I dunno. Punch rivets. If I as an employee of that shop use the air hammer and something involving the air hammer happens to my coworker or a customer or whatever, it is extremely likely that the company I work for would be on the hook. Could they try to penalize me personally? Yes. Could the person who was injured sue me personally? Certainly. Would the company be off the hook if the air hammer malfunctioned causing injury? Maybe - And at that point I would expect the manufacturer to be liable. But my comment never mentioned the manufacturer.

        The context was companies using AI as a tool not companies manufacturing AI.