I think the biggest risk is not AI in and of itself, even though there's lots in the media and press written about that.

It's that people won't evolve fast enough with AI. It's the human risk and ability to actually start to really use these new tools and build the habit.

At the same time, I'm incredibly optimistic because I think

I have lived in the heart of these changes in work for the past five plus years now with some

level of intensity, right? Like lived it and breathed it every day. And what I think I'm always

very hopeful and surprised by is the

ability of humans to continue to adapt and be resilient and find ways to move through the change.

And that's what I've seen time and time again, both, you know, in my own lived experience

and through the data and how we've studied this.

From empty offices in 2020 to AI colleagues in 2025, the way that we work has been completely rewired over the past five years.

I'm Geekwire co-founder Todd Bishop.

I'm here in Redmond this week.

Our guest studies these shifts closely along with her colleagues at Microsoft.

Colette Stalbomber is the co-founder of Microsoft WorkLab, the general manager of Microsoft 365 co-pilot,

and the author of the new book, Work Lab,

five years that shook the business world and sparked an AI first future from Microsoft's 80-80

books. Colette, it's great to have you here on the show. Todd, thank you so much for having me.

So I've been really enjoying this book. I have to tell you, it's given me kind of a combination of nostalgia and PTSD,

because it's an anthology, really. And it spans the time from the pandemic to the AI revolution.

And one of the things that it makes very clear is that this is all one big interconnected story. Can you explain that? How did the

pandemic and what we all went through in that era set the stage for what we're experiencing now

with the AI revolution? Yeah, I mean, it is sort of wild to look at the five years in one container,

...