Is Microsoft’s small language model initiative a game-changer? It’s too early to say. But there is at least some plausibility in the suggestions that the large, and indeed ever-larger, language models, requiring huge computing power, are just unnecessary for a lot of everyday tasks.
A small business is highly unlikely to be an Adobe or Oracle shop or have SAP running back office and front office functions. Not just because it isn’t affordable, but because so much of the functionality would be irrelevant.
Also, isn’t it kind of nice to think about AI in your back pocket for a change (literally, running locally on your smartphone) rather than AI taking over the universe?
Kim Davis
Editor at large
