With Identity and Permissions: Is Artificial Intelligence Becoming Your New Manager?

Microsoft is developing a new generation of "AI agents" that are no longer merely assistive tools — they now possess a digital identity and permissions within corporate systems, along with the ability to carry out actual tasks even when the user is away from their device.

According to the report, these new agents hold a name and specific permissions within an organization's technical infrastructure, enabling them to access internal systems and independently execute a portion of job functions, rather than simply offering suggestions or assisting a human user in completing their work.

In practical terms, this shift means an employee could find themselves with a new "colleague" who needs no office and draws no salary, yet is capable of tracking and executing tasks within the permissions granted by the organization's technical management.

This development is part of a broader race among major technology companies to build increasingly autonomous AI agents capable of carrying out chains of complex tasks without requiring continuous human supervision at every step.

The trend is raising growing questions about the nature of the future relationship between employees and these intelligent systems — particularly regarding accountability and oversight of decisions these agents may take within their authorized scope inside the workplace.

Full details regarding the actual launch timeline for these agents and the extent of their deployment in workplace settings have yet to be determined, amid anticipation from the tech community over how companies will navigate the regulatory and legal dimensions involved in granting real permissions to automated systems.