Microsoft plays a large role in enterprise IT applications, from the desktop to the datacenter to the Azure cloud, and the company is active in the world of AI as well. But most of Microsoft’s work has gone unnoticed, with high-profile cloud AI and ML applications at companies like Google and Uber getting all the press. In this episode, Steph Locke joins Chris Grundemann and Stephen Foskett to discuss the place of AI inside the Microsoft ecosystem. Microsoft has built AI into search and Cortana and has also produced an AI Builder and ML workspace in Azure that allows developers to produce their own chatbots, recognize images, and more. Steph also discusses the AI-related announcements at Microsoft Build last week. We finish up with a deep discussion of accessibility and diversity and potential solutions from hiring to training to awareness.

Three Questions

• Can you think of an application for ML that has not yet been rolled out but will make a major impact in the future?
• Is it possible to create a truly unbiased AI?
• Will we ever see a Hollywood-style “artificial mind” like Mr. Data or other characters?
  

Guests and Hosts

• Steph Locke, Data Scientist and CEO of Nightingale HQ. Connect with Steph on LinkedIn or on Twitter @TheStephLocke.
• Chris Grundemann, Gigaom Analyst and Managing Director at Grundemann Technology Solutions. Connect with Chris on ChrisGrundemann.com on Twitter at @ChrisGrundemann.
• Stephen Foskett, Publisher of Gestalt IT and Organizer of Tech Field Day. Find Stephen’s writing at GestaltIT.com and on Twitter at @SFoskett.  
  

Date: 6/1/2021 Tags: @SFoskett, @ChrisGrundemann, @TheStephLocke, @NightingaleHQAI