Should tired workers be banned from using Microsoft Copilot on Friday afternoons? "AI fatigue" could lead to lazy mistakes

During a talk about “Mitigating the Top 5 Microsoft 365 Copilot Security Risks” at Gartner’s Security & Risk Management Summit in Sydney on Tuesday, analyst Dennis Xu jokingly suggested banning the use of Microsoft Copilot on Friday afternoons.

He noted that by the end of the week, many users might be too lazy to double‑check whether the chatbot’s outputs are offensive, which raised his concern (via The Register).

As AI models and chatbots become more advanced, prompt engineering is increasingly vital to unlocking their full potential. So, why Friday? The analyst argued that most professionals are usually tired by this time of the week and wouldn't bother to check for errors in Microsoft Copilot's responses.

Xu floated the idea about banning Copilot on Friday afternoons while discussing the fifth risk he'd identified about the chatbot generating output that might be a tad inappropriate. While he admitted that the output might be factually correct, it may come off as toxic and offensive, making it unsuitable in the workplace or even among customers.

The analysts reiterated the importance of reviewing Copilot's output before sharing to a broader audience, and even making it a ritual. He also recommended addressing Copilot's toxic content using filters from Microsoft.

While many users seem to show a bias toward ChatGPT when comparing it to Copilot (though the growing #CancelChatGPT movement may be shifting perceptions), Microsoft has argued that its offering is superior. The company suggests that users simply aren’t leveraging Copilot as intended, pointing instead to a lack of proper prompt‑engineering skills.

💬 Is "AI fatigue" a thing?

There's no denying that generative AI is slowly but surely securing its spot in the corporate world. Tech leaders and key stakeholders heavily invested in the industry have speculated how the next-gen technology will reshape the future. especially the job market.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates speculates that AI will replace humans for most things. At the same time, Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman recently claimed that white-collar jobs could be automated by AI and become extinct within the next 12-18 months.

Despite the threat to the job market, AI is largely seen as a productivity booster in the workplace. However, there have been complaints from professionals, citing AI fatigue (via Business Insider).

While AI seemingly makes people more productive, it has also made their jobs harder and left them drained. A recent study by Microsoft researchers indicated that AI chatbots get "dumber" the longer you talk to them, raising concerns about their reliability.

A separate Microsoft study revealed that overreliance on AI tools like Copilot atrophies people's critical thinking capabilities.

Do you feel fatigued when using Copilot or any other AI tools in your workflow? Share your thoughts with me in the comments.

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