We are at something of a crossroads in human civilization. On one hand, we have a growing development in artificial intelligence (AI) that could reshape the human landscape. On the other hand, we’re looking at soaring inflation and a recession that’s either still long-delayed or about to drop like the fist of an angry god. That’s leaving tech giant Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in a bad position, and it’s got a plan to draw some hesitant chief financial officers (CFOs) over to its side.
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However, Microsoft won’t be doing this alone; it’s enlisted Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) to help put deals through. Microsoft and Salesforce are focusing their efforts on what generative AI systems can do to help businesses make money, which is likely to catch the attention of CFOs.
Given that CFOs are commonly risk-averse, and this is an unusually risky environment during a period of major technological disruption, the end result is that those CFOs could use a little prodding in the right direction. Microsoft is already showing tools that reduce the time that reconciliation takes from “hours per week per person” to “minutes per week per person.” It’s hard for even the most hidebound of CFOs to not see the value in such an arrangement.
Until the Hallucinations Kick-In…
That may sound like an odd lead-in, but I assure you it is true. One major roadblock for at least some of those CFOs might be reports that Microsoft’s AI tools, among others, can hallucinate. But Microsoft is working on a way to counter those artificial mental illnesses early on with its Azure AI Studio tools. The tools in question can look for “malicious prompt attacks” as well as “unsupported responses,” which are otherwise known as “hallucinations.”
Is Microsoft a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on MSFT stock based on 32 Buys, one Hold, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 49.33% rally in its share price over the past year, the average MSFT price target of $468.86 per share implies 11.44% upside potential.
