AI AND ML<\/p>\n
Redmond wants results from Copilot, not impressive-looking consumption figures<\/p>\n
Concerned about cost, Microsoft is reportedly warning employees against wasteful AI use.<\/p>\n
In an email seen by 404 Media<\/a>, Microsoft Executive Vice President Jay Parikh warned that individual divisions would be given targets and could face restrictions. “Tokenmaxxing is not what we are optimizing for. I want all of us focused on maximizing outcomes that move the needle for our customers and our business,” the email states.<\/p>\n The Register asked Microsoft what it made of the report, and a spokesperson told us the company had “nothing to add.”<\/p>\n Microsoft is hardly short of cash and has continued to pour money into its AI investments<\/a>, but its apparent efforts to curb wasteful AI spending bring it into line with other companies attempting to rethink how employees use AI.<\/p>\n Tokenmaxxing<\/a> is the practice of using as many AI tokens as possible, and treating the volume as proof of productivity. A token is the basic unit used to process and bill for the input and output of AI models. If a company is measuring employees’ use of AI, burning through as many tokens as possible will make the figures look rosier. <\/p>\n However, companies need to consider the cost of those tokens alongside other factors, such as productivity. As The Register observed in April<\/a>:\u00a0“Tokenmaxxing isn’t an AI strategy.”<\/p>\n Microsoft does not appear to be seeking an overall reduction in token use \u2013 it wants to be an AI-first company, after all. It simply wants more bang for its buck. <\/p>\n