Microsoft Research Podcast

In the Microsoft Research Podcast series What’s Your Story, Johannes Gehrke explores the who behind the technical and scientific advancements helping to reshape the world. A systems expert whose 10 years with Microsoft spans research and product, Gehrke talks to members of the company’s research community about what motivates their work and how they got where they are[...]

Members of the research community at Microsoft work continuously to advance their respective fields. Abstracts brings its audience to the cutting edge with them through short, compelling conversations about new and noteworthy achievements.In this episode, Senior Principal Researcher Michel Galley joins host Gretchen Huizinga to discuss “MathVista: Evaluating Mathematical Reasoning of Foundation Models in Visual Contexts,” which was accepted[...]

Behind every emerging technology is a great idea propelling it forward. In the new Microsoft Research Podcast series, Ideas, members of the research community at Microsoft discuss the beliefs that animate their research, the experiences and thinkers that inform it, and the positive human impact it targets. In this episode, host Gretchen Huizinga talks with Rafah[...]

Members of the research community at Microsoft work continuously to advance their respective fields. Abstracts brings its audience to the cutting edge with them through short, compelling conversations about new and noteworthy achievements.In this episode, Senior Research Software Engineer Tusher Chakraborty joins host Gretchen Huizinga to discuss “Spectrumize: Spectrum-efficient Satellite Networks for the Internet of[...]

Behind every emerging technology is a great idea propelling it forward. In the new Microsoft Research Podcast series, Ideas, members of the research community at Microsoft discuss the beliefs that animate their research, the experiences and thinkers that inform it, and the positive human impact it targets. In this episode, host Gretchen Huizinga talks with Principal[...]

Powerful large-scale AI models like GPT-4 are showing dramatic improvements in reasoning, problem-solving, and language capabilities. This marks a phase change for artificial intelligence—and a signal of accelerating progress to come.In this Microsoft Research Podcast series, AI scientist and engineer Ashley Llorens hosts conversations with his collaborators and colleagues about what these models—and the models[...]

Members of the research community at Microsoft work continuously to advance their respective fields. Abstracts brings its audience to the cutting edge with them through short, compelling conversations about new and noteworthy achievements. In this episode, Senior Researcher Chang Liu joins host Gretchen Huizinga to discuss Overcoming the Barrier of Orbital-Free Density Functional Theory for Molecular[...]

Members of the research community at Microsoft work continuously to advance their respective fields. Abstracts brings its audience to the cutting edge with them through short, compelling conversations about new and noteworthy achievements. In this episode, Senior Behavioral Science Researcher Lev Tankelevitch joins host Gretchen Huizinga to discuss “The Metacognitive Demands and Opportunities of Generative AI.” In[...]

In the Microsoft Research Podcast series What’s Your Story, Johannes Gehrke explores the who behind the technical and scientific advancements helping to reshape the world. A systems expert whose 10 years with Microsoft spans research and product, Gehrke talks to members of the company’s research community about what motivates their work and how they got[...]

In the Microsoft Research Podcast series What’s Your Story, Johannes Gehrke explores the who behind the technical and scientific advancements helping to reshape the world. A systems expert whose 10 years with Microsoft spans research and product, Gehrke talks to members of the company’s research community about what motivates their work and how they got[...]

Members of the research community at Microsoft work continuously to advance their respective fields. Abstracts brings its audience to the cutting edge with them through short, compelling conversations about new and noteworthy achievements.In this episode, Senior Researchers Jordan Ash and Dipendra Misra join host Gretchen Huizinga to discuss “The Truth is in There: Improving Reasoning[...]

Powerful large-scale AI models like GPT-4 are showing dramatic improvements in reasoning, problem-solving, and language capabilities. This marks a phase change for artificial intelligence—and a signal of accelerating progress to come.In this Microsoft Research Podcast series, AI scientist and engineer Ashley Llorens hosts conversations with his collaborators and colleagues about what these models—and the models[...]

Members of the research community at Microsoft work continuously to advance their respective fields. Abstracts brings its audience to the cutting edge with them through short, compelling conversations about new and noteworthy achievements. In this episode, Senior Principal Research Manager Tao Qin and Senior Researcher Lijun Wu discuss “FABind: Fast and Accurate Protein-Ligand Binding.” The paper,[...]

Members of the research community at Microsoft work continuously to advance their respective fields. Abstracts brings its audience to the cutting edge with them through short, compelling conversations about new and noteworthy achievements.In this episode, Principal Researcher Alessandro Sordoni joins host Gretchen Huizinga to discuss “Joint Prompt Optimization of Stacked LLMs using Variational Inference.” In[...]

Members of the research community at Microsoft work continuously to advance their respective fields. Abstracts brings its audience to the cutting edge with them through short, compelling conversations about new and noteworthy achievements.In this episode, Xing Xie, a Senior Principal Research Manager of Microsoft Research Asia, joins host Dr. Gretchen Huizinga to discuss “Evaluating General-Purpose[...]

Transforming research ideas into meaningful impact is no small feat. It often requires the knowledge and experience of individuals from across disciplines and institutions. Collaborators, a Microsoft Research Podcast series, explores the relationships—both expected and unexpected—behind the projects, products, and services being pursued and delivered by researchers at Microsoft and the diverse range of people[...]

Members of the research community at Microsoft work continuously to advance their respective fields. Abstracts brings its audience to the cutting edge with them through short, compelling conversations about new and noteworthy achievements.In this episode, Shrey Jain, a Technical Project Manager at Microsoft Research, and Dr. Zoë Hitzig, a junior fellow at the Harvard Society[...]

In this new Microsoft Research Podcast series What’s Your Story, Johannes Gehrke explores the who behind the technical and scientific advancements helping to reshape the world. A systems expert whose 10 years with Microsoft spans research and product, Gehrke talks to members of the company’s research community about what motivates their work and how they[...]

Members of the research community at Microsoft work continuously to advance their respective fields. Abstracts brings its audience to the cutting edge with them through short, compelling conversations about new and noteworthy achievements.In this episode, Andy Gordon, a Partner Research Manager, and Carina Negreanu, a Senior Researcher, both at Microsoft Research, join host Dr. Gretchen Huizinga to[...]

In this new Microsoft Research Podcast series What’s Your Story, Lab Director Johannes Gehrke explores the who behind the technical and scientific advancements helping to reshape the world. He talks to members of the research community at Microsoft about what motivates their work and how they got where they are today.Ranveer Chandra is Managing Director[...]

Members of the research community at Microsoft work continuously to advance their respective fields. Abstracts brings its audience to the cutting edge with them through short, compelling conversations about new and noteworthy achievements. In this episode, Dr. Sheng Zhang, a Senior Researcher at Microsoft Research, joins host Dr. Gretchen Huizinga to discuss “UniversalNER: Targeted Distillation from Large Language Models[...]

Every year, interns from academic institutions around the world apply and grow their knowledge as members of the research community at Microsoft. In this Microsoft Research Podcast series, these students join their internship supervisors to share their experience working alongside some of the leading researchers in their respective fields. In this episode, PhD students Jennifer Scurrell[...]

Powerful large-scale AI models like GPT-4 are showing dramatic improvements in reasoning, problem-solving, and language capabilities. This marks a phase change for artificial intelligence—and a signal of accelerating progress to come.In this Microsoft Research Podcast series, AI scientist and engineer Ashley Llorens hosts conversations with his collaborators and colleagues about what these models—and the models[...]

Powerful large-scale AI models like GPT-4 are showing dramatic improvements in reasoning, problem-solving, and language capabilities. This marks a phase change for artificial intelligence—and a signal of accelerating progress to come.  In this Microsoft Research Podcast series, AI scientist and engineer Ashley Llorens hosts conversations with his collaborators and colleagues about what these models—and the models[...]

Members of the research community at Microsoft work continuously to advance their respective fields. Abstracts brings its audience to the cutting edge with them through short, compelling conversations about new and noteworthy achievements. In the inaugural episode of the series, Dr. Ava Amini and Dr. Kevin K. Yang, both Senior Researchers with Microsoft Health Futures, join[...]

Every year, interns from academic institutions around the world apply and grow their knowledge as members of the research community at Microsoft. In this Microsoft Research Podcast series, these students join their internship supervisors to share their experience working alongside some of the leading researchers in their respective fields.In this episode, PhD students Anunay Kulshrestha[...]

Powerful large-scale AI models like GPT-4 are showing dramatic improvements in reasoning, problem-solving, and language capabilities. This marks a phase change for artificial intelligence—and a signal of accelerating progress to come. In this Microsoft Research Podcast series, AI scientist and engineer Ashley Llorens hosts conversations with his collaborators and colleagues about what these models—and the models[...]

Transforming research ideas into meaningful impact is no small feat. It often requires the knowledge and experience of individuals from across disciplines and institutions. Collaborators, a new Microsoft Research Podcast series, explores the relationships—both expected and unexpected—behind the projects, products, and services being pursued and delivered by researchers at Microsoft and the diverse range of[...]

Transforming research ideas into meaningful impact is no small feat. It often requires the knowledge and experience of individuals from across disciplines and institutions. Collaborators, a new Microsoft Research Podcast series, explores the relationships—both expected and unexpected—behind the projects, products, and services being pursued and delivered by researchers at Microsoft and the diverse range of[...]

Transforming research ideas into meaningful impact is no small feat. It often requires the knowledge and experience of individuals from across disciplines and institutions. Collaborators, a new Microsoft Research Podcast series, explores the relationships—both expected and unexpected—behind the projects, products, and services being pursued and delivered by researchers at Microsoft and the diverse range of people[...]

Transforming research ideas into meaningful impact is no small feat. It often requires the knowledge and experience of individuals from across disciplines and institutions. Collaborators, a new Microsoft Research Podcast series, explores the relationships—both expected and unexpected—behind the projects, products, and services being pursued and delivered by researchers at Microsoft and the diverse range of[...]

Transforming research ideas into meaningful impact is no small feat. It often requires the knowledge and experience of individuals from across disciplines and institutions. Collaborators, a new Microsoft Research Podcast series, explores the relationships—both expected and unexpected—behind the projects, products, and services being pursued and delivered by researchers at Microsoft and the diverse range of[...]

Powerful new large-scale AI models like GPT-4 are showing dramatic improvements in reasoning, problem-solving, and language capabilities. This marks a phase change for artificial intelligence—and a signal of accelerating progress to come.In this Microsoft Research Podcast series, AI scientist and engineer Ashley Llorens hosts conversations with his collaborators and colleagues about what these new models—and[...]

Transforming research ideas into meaningful impact is no small feat. It often requires the knowledge and experience of individuals from across disciplines and institutions. Collaborators, a new Microsoft Research podcast series, explores the relationships—both expected and unexpected—behind the projects, products, and services being pursued and delivered by researchers at Microsoft and the diverse range of[...]

Powerful new large-scale AI models like GPT-4 are showing dramatic improvements in reasoning, problem-solving, and language capabilities. This marks a phase change for artificial intelligence—and a signal of accelerating progress to come.In this Microsoft Research Podcast series, AI scientist and engineer Ashley Llorens hosts conversations with his collaborators and colleagues about what these new models—and[...]

Powerful new large-scale AI models like GPT-4 are showing dramatic improvements in reasoning, problem-solving, and language capabilities. This marks a phase change for artificial intelligence—and a signal of accelerating progress to come.In this new Microsoft Research Podcast series, AI scientist and engineer Ashley Llorens hosts conversations with his collaborators and colleagues about what these new[...]

Powerful new large-scale AI models like GPT-4 are showing dramatic improvements in reasoning, problem-solving, and language capabilities. This marks a phase change for artificial intelligence—and a signal of accelerating progress to come.In this new Microsoft Research Podcast series, AI scientist and engineer Ashley Llorens hosts conversations with his collaborators and colleagues about what these new[...]

Transforming research ideas into meaningful impact is no small feat. It often requires the knowledge and experience of individuals from across disciplines and institutions. Collaborators, a new Microsoft Research Podcast series, explores the relationships—both expected and unexpected—behind the projects, products, and services being pursued and delivered by researchers at Microsoft and the diverse range of people[...]

In “Just Tech: Centering Community-Driven Innovation at the Margins,” Senior Principal Researcher Mary L. Gray explores how technology and community intertwine and the role technology can play in supporting community-driven innovation and community-based organizations. Dr. Gray and her team are working to bring computer science, engineering, social science, and communities together to boost societal resilience[...]

In “Just Tech: Centering Community-Driven Innovation at the Margins,” Senior Principal Researcher Mary Gray explores how technology and community intertwine and the role technology can play in supporting community-driven innovation and community-based organizations. Dr. Gray and her team are working to bring computer science, engineering, social science, and community together to boost societal resilience in[...]

In “Just Tech: Centering Community-Driven Innovation at the Margins,” Senior Principal Researcher Mary Gray explores how technology and community intertwine and the role technology can play in supporting community-driven innovation and community-based organizations. Dr. Gray and her team are working to bring computer science, engineering, social science, and community together to boost societal resilience in[...]

For Microsoft researchers, COVID-19 was a call to action. The reimagining of work practices had long been an area of study, but existing and new questions that needed immediate answers surfaced as companies and their employees quickly adjusted to significantly different working conditions. Teams from across the Microsoft organizational chart pooled their unique expertise together[...]

For Microsoft researchers, COVID-19 was a call to action. The reimagining of work practices had long been an area of study, but existing and new questions that needed immediate answers surfaced as companies and their employees quickly adjusted to significantly different working conditions. Teams from across the Microsoft organizational chart pooled their unique expertise together[...]

For Microsoft researchers, COVID-19 was a call to action. The reimagining of work practices had long been an area of study, but existing and new questions that needed immediate answers surfaced as companies and their employees quickly adjusted to significantly different working conditions. Teams from across the Microsoft organizational chart pooled their unique expertise together under The New[...]

Unlocking the challenge of molecular simulation has the potential to yield significant breakthroughs in how we tackle such societal issues as climate change, drug discovery, and the treatment of disease, and Microsoft is ramping up its efforts in the space. In this episode, Chris Bishop, Lab Director of Microsoft Research Cambridge, welcomes renowned machine learning researcher Max[...]

For Microsoft researchers, COVID-19 was a call to action. The reimagining of work practices had long been an area of study, but existing and new questions that needed immediate answers surfaced as companies and their employees quickly adjusted to significantly different working conditions. Teams from across the Microsoft organizational chart pooled their unique expertise together[...]

For Microsoft researchers, COVID-19 was a call to action. The reimagining of work practices had long been an area of study, but existing and new questions that needed immediate answers surfaced as companies and their employees quickly adjusted to significantly different working conditions. Teams from across the Microsoft organizational chart pooled their unique expertise together under The New Future[...]

For Microsoft researchers, COVID-19 was a call to action. The reimagining of work practices had long been an area of study, but existing and new questions that needed immediate answers surfaced as companies and their employees quickly adjusted to significantly different working conditions. Teams from across the Microsoft organizational chart pooled their unique expertise together[...]

For Microsoft researchers, COVID-19 was a call to action. The reimagining of work practices had long been an area of study, but existing and new questions that needed immediate answers surfaced as companies and their employees quickly adjusted to significantly different working conditions. Teams from across the Microsoft organizational chart pooled their unique expertise together[...]

In the world of economics, researchers at Microsoft are examining a range of complex systems—from those that impact the technologies we use to those that inform the laws and policies we create—through the lens of a social science that goes beyond the numbers to better understand people and society. In this episode, Senior Principal Researcher Hunt[...]

In the world of economics, researchers at Microsoft are examining a range of complex systems—from those that impact the technologies we use to those that inform the laws and policies we create—through the lens of a social science that goes beyond the numbers to better understand people and society. Interviewed by Senior Principal Researcher Hunt Allcott,[...]

In the world of economics, researchers at Microsoft are examining a range of complex systems—from those that impact the technologies we use to those that inform the laws and policies we create—through the lens of a social science that goes beyond the numbers to better understand people and society. In this episode, Senior Principal Researcher Dr. Hunt Allcott speaks with Microsoft Research New[...]

In the world of economics, researchers at Microsoft are examining a range of complex systems—from those that impact the technologies we use to those that inform the laws and policies we create—through the lens of a social science that goes beyond the numbers to better understand people and society. In this episode, Dr. Hunt Allcott,[...]

Today, people around the globe—from teachers to small-business owners to finance executives—use Microsoft Excel to make sense of the information that occupies their respective worlds, and whether they realize it or not, in doing so, they’re taking on the role of programmer. In this episode, Senior Principal Research Manager Andy Gordon, who leads the Calc[...]

Dynamic random-access memory – or DRAM – is the most popular form of volatile computer memory in the world but it’s particularly susceptible to Rowhammer, an adversarial attack that can cause data loss and security exploits in everything from smart phones to the cloud. Today, Dr. Stefan Saroiu, a Senior Principal Researcher in MSR’s Mobility[...]

Many computer science researchers set their sights on building general AI technologies that could impact hundreds of millions – or even billions – of people. But Dr. Danielle Bragg, a senior researcher at MSR’s New England lab, has a slightly smaller and more specific population in mind: the some seventy million people worldwide who use[...]

MSR’s New York City lab is home to some of the best reinforcement learning research on the planet but if you ask any of the researchers, they’ll tell you they’re very interested in getting it out of the lab and into the real world. One of those researchers is Dr. Akshay Krishnamurthy and today, he[...]

Dr. Siddhartha Sen is a Principal Researcher in MSR’s New York City lab, and his research interests are, if not impossible, at least impossible sounding: optimal decision making, universal data structures, and verifiably safe AI. Today, he tells us how he’s using reinforcement learning and HAIbrid algorithms to tap the best of both human and[...]

This episode originally aired in August, 2018. Kevin Scott has embraced many roles over the course of his illustrious career in technology: software developer, engineering executive, researcher, angel investor, philanthropist, and now, Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft. But perhaps no role suits him so well – or has so fundamentally shaped all the others –[...]

Dr. Devon Hjelm is a senior researcher at the Microsoft Research lab in Montreal, and today, he joins me to dive deep into his research on Deep InfoMax, a novel self-supervised learning approach to training AI models – and getting good representations – without human annotation. He also tells us how an interest in neural[...]

This episode originally aired in June, 2019 You may not know who Dr. Andrew Fitzgibbon is, but if you’ve watched a TV show or movie in the last two decades, you’ve probably seen some of his work. An expert in 3D computer vision and graphics, and head of the new All Data AI group at[...]

This episode originally aired in April, 2018 Emotions are fundamental to human interaction, but in a world where humans are increasingly interacting with AI systems, Dr. Mary Czerwinski, Principal Researcher and Research Manager of the Visualization and Interaction for Business and Entertainment group at Microsoft Research, believes emotions may be fundamental to our interactions with[...]

This episode originally aired in April, 2019. We hear a lot these days about “AI for good” and the efforts of many companies to harness the power of artificial intelligence to solve some of our biggest environmental challenges. It’s rare, however, that you find a company willing to bring its environmental bona fides all the[...]

This episode originally aired in December, 2017 On today’s episode, neuroscientist and virtual reality researcher, Dr. Mar Gonzalez Franco, talks about her work in VR, explains how avatars can help increase our empathy and reduce our biases via role play, and addresses the misconceptions that exist between the immersive experiences of virtual reality and psychedelic[...]

Forty years ago, database research was an “exotic” field and, because of its business data processing reputation, was not considered intellectually interesting in academic circles. But that didn’t deter Dr. Philip Bernstein, now a Distinguished Scientist in MSR’s Data Management, Exploration and Mining group, and a pioneer in the field. Today, Dr. Bernstein talks about[...]

Brad Smith is the President of Microsoft and leads a team of more than 1400 employees in 56 countries. He plays a key role in spearheading the company’s work on critical issues involving the intersection of technology and society. In his spare time, he’s also an author! We were fortunate to catch up with Brad[...]

Rangan Majumder is the Partner Group Program Manager of Microsoft’s Search and AI, and he has a simple goal: to make the world smarter and more productive. But nobody said simple was easy, so he and his team are working on better – and faster – ways to help you find the information you’re looking[...]

Dr. Behnaz Arzani is a senior researcher in the Mobility and Networking group at MSR, and she feels your pain. At least, that is, if you’re a network operator trying to troubleshoot an incident in a datacenter. Her research is all about getting networks to manage themselves, so your life is as pain-free as possible.[...]

If you want an inside look at how a research idea goes from project to prototype to product, you should hang out with Gavin Jancke for a while. He’s the General Manager of Engineering for MSR Redmond where he created – and runs – the Central Engineering Group. Over the past two decades, he’s overseen[...]

Over the past decade, the healthcare industry has undergone a series of technological changes in an effort to modernize it and bring it into the digital world, but the call for innovation persists. One person answering that call is Dr. Peter Lee, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Healthcare, a new organization dedicated to accelerating healthcare[...]

Dr. Debadeepta Dey is a Principal Researcher in the Adaptive Systems and Interaction group at MSR and he’s currently exploring several lines of research that may help bridge the gap between perception and planning for autonomous agents, teaching them make decisions under uncertainty and even to stop and ask for directions when they get lost![...]

Dr. Donald Kossmann is a Distinguished Scientist who thinks big, and as the Director of Microsoft Research’s flagship lab in Redmond, it’s his job to inspire others to think big, too. But don’t be fooled. For him, thinking big involves what he calls thinking backwards, a framework of imagining the future, defining progress in reverse[...]

In a world where productivity is paramount and only a handful of people have personal assistants, many of us are frustrated by the amount of time we spend in meetings, and worse, the amount time we spend planning, scheduling and rescheduling those meetings! Fortunately, Dr. Pamela Bhattacharya, a Principal Applied Scientist in Microsoft’s Outlook group,[...]

There’s an old adage that says if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. But when it comes to AI, Dr. Saleema Amershi, a principal researcher in the Adaptive Systems and Interaction group at Microsoft Research, contends that if you plan to fail, you’re actually more likely to succeed! She’s an advocate of calling[...]

Dr. Jianfeng Gao is a veteran computer scientist, an IEEE Fellow and the current head of the Deep Learning Group at Microsoft Research. He and his team are exploring novel approaches to advancing the state-of-the-art on deep learning in areas like NLP, computer vision, multi-modal intelligence and conversational AI. Today, Dr. Gao gives us an[...]

Dr. Sriram Rajamani is a Distinguished Scientist and the Managing Director of the Microsoft Research lab in Bangalore. He’s dedicated his career to advancing globally applicable science in the testbed that is India. He is, by any measure, a world-class researcher and leader. He’s also, as you’ll find out shortly, a world-class storyteller! Today, Dr.[...]

This episode originally aired in May, 2019. Machine learning is a powerful tool that enables computers to learn by observing the world, recognizing patterns and self-training via experience. Much like humans. But while machines perform well when they can extract knowledge from large amounts of labeled data, their learning outcomes remain vastly inferior to humans[...]

This episode originally aired in May, 2019. If you’re in software development, Dr. Tom Zimmermann, a senior researcher at Microsoft Research in Redmond, wants you to be more productive, and he’s here to help. How, you might ask? Well, while productivity can be hard to measure, his research in the Empirical Software Engineering group is[...]

This episode originally aired in May, 2019.Dr. John Langford, a partner researcher in the Machine Learning group at Microsoft Research New York City, is a reinforcement learning expert who is working, in his own words, to solve machine learning. Rafah Hosn, also of MSR New York, is a principal program manager who’s working to take[...]

Dr. Sébastien Bubeck is a mathematician and a senior researcher in the Machine Learning and Optimization group at Microsoft Research. He’s also a self-proclaimed “bandit” who claims that, despite all the buzz around AI, it’s still a science in its infancy. That’s why he’s devoted his career to advancing the mathematical foundations behind the machine[...]

This episode first aired in November, 2018. Dr. Christopher Bishop is quite a fellow. Literally. Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Fellow of Darwin College in Cambridge, England. Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Fellow of The Royal Society. Microsoft Technical Fellow. And one of the nicest fellows you’re likely to meet! He’s[...]

With all the buzz surrounding AI, it can be tempting to envision it as a stand-alone entity that optimizes for accuracy and displaces human capabilities. But Dr. Besmira Nushi, a senior researcher in the Adaptive Systems and Interaction group at Microsoft Research, envisions AI as a cooperative entity that enhances human capabilities and optimizes for[...]

Deep learning methodologies like supervised learning have been very successful in training machines to make predictions about the world. But because they’re so dependent upon large amounts of human-annotated data, they’ve been difficult to scale. Dr. Phil Bachman, a researcher at MSR Montreal, would like to change that, and he’s working to train machines to[...]

There’s a lot of excitement around self-driving cars, delivery drones, and other intelligent, autonomous systems, but before they can be deployed at scale, they need to be both reliable and safe. That’s why Gurdeep Pall, CVP of Business AI at Microsoft, and Dr. Ashish Kapoor, who leads research in Aerial Informatics and Robotics, are using[...]

Dr. Sumit Gulwani is a programmer’s programmer. Literally. A Partner Research Manager in the Program Synthesis, or PROSE, group at Microsoft Research, Dr. Gulwani is a leading researcher in program synthesis and the inventor of many intent-understanding, programming-by-example and programming-by-natural language technologies – aka, the automation of “what I meant to do and wanted to[...]

Computer programming has often been perceived as the exclusive domain of computer scientists and software engineers. But that’s changing, thanks to the work of people like Dr. Thomas Ball, a Partner Researcher in the RiSE group at Microsoft Research, and Dr. Teddy Seyed, a post-doctoral researcher in the same group. Their goal is to make[...]

Remember when a hard drive that could hold a terabyte of data was a big deal? Well, we’re now in an era where peta-, exa- and even zetta-bytes are the bytes of the day, and it turns out it’s hard to fit that many zeroes on a hard drive. That’s where Dr. Ant Rowstron, Deputy[...]

Jenny Sabin is an architectural designer, a professor, a studio principal and MSR’s current Artist in Residence. Asta Roseway is a principal research designer, a “fusionist” and the co-founder of the Artist in Residence program at Microsoft Research. The two, along with a stellar multi-disciplinary team, recently completed the installation of Ada, the first interactive[...]

Machine learning is a powerful tool that enables conversational agents to provide general question-answer services. But in domains with more specific taxonomies – or simply for requests that are longer and more complicated than “Play Baby Shark” – custom conversational AI has long been the province of large enterprises with big budgets. But not for[...]

Dr. Craig Costello is in the business of safeguarding your secrets. And he uses math to do it. A researcher in the Security and Cryptography group at Microsoft Research, Dr. Costello is among a formidable group of code makers (aka cryptographers) who make it their life’s work to protect the internet against adversarial code breakers[...]

Using technology to help us improve our health is nothing new: a quick web search returns hundreds of apps and devices claiming to help us get fit, quit smoking, master anxiety or just “find our center.” What is new is a serious cohort of researchers exploring how artificial emotional intelligence, or AEI, could help us[...]

If someone asked you what snow leopards and Vincent Van Gogh have in common, you might think it was the beginning of a joke. It’s not, but if it were, Mark Hamilton, a software engineer in Microsoft’s Cognitive Services group, budding PhD student and frequent Microsoft Research collaborator, would tell you the punchline is machine[...]

Dr. Eyal Ofek is a senior researcher at Microsoft Research and his work deals mainly with, well, reality. Augmented and virtual reality, to be precise. A serial entrepreneur before he came to MSR, Dr. Ofek knows a lot about the “long nose of innovation” and what it takes to bring a revolutionary new technology to[...]

Dr. Susan Dumais knows you have things to do, and if you need help finding stuff to get them done (and you probably do) then her long and illustrious career in search technologies has been worth it. Situated firmly in Louis Pasteur’s quadrant of the research grid (the square where you answer “yes” to both[...]

In 2018, Microsoft launched the Microsoft AI Residency Program, a year-long, expanded research experience designed to give recent graduates in a variety of fields the opportunity to work alongside prominent researchers at MSR on cutting edge AI technologies to solve real-world problems. Dr. Brian Broll was one of them. A newly minted PhD in Computer[...]

Dr. Ed Cutrell is a Principal Researcher in the Ability group at Microsoft Research and he’s convinced that great technology should be available to everyone. Working in the fields of Accessibility and Information and Communication Technologies for Development (aka ICT4D), his research has explored computing solutions for people across the resource and ability spectrum, both[...]

As computing moves to the cloud, there is an increasing need for privacy in AI. In an ideal world, users would have the ability to compute on encrypted data without sacrificing performance. Enter Dr. Olli Saarikivi, a post-doctoral researcher in the RiSE group at MSR. He, along with a stellar group of cross-disciplinary colleagues, are[...]

The ability to read and understand unstructured text, and then answer questions about it, is a common skill among literate humans. But for machines? Not so much. At least not yet! And not if Dr. T.J. Hazen, Senior Principal Research Manager in the Engineering and Applied Research group at MSR Montreal, has a say. He’s[...]

In an era of unprecedented advances in AI and machine learning, current gen systems and networks are being challenged by an unprecedented level of complexity and cost. Fortunately, Dr. Ganesh Ananthanarayanan, a researcher in the Mobility and Networking group at MSR, is up for a challenge. And, it seems, the more computationally intractable the better![...]

Dr. Nathalie Riche envisions a future in which all of our data will be accessible, meaningful, compelling and artistic. And as a researcher in human computer interaction and information visualization at Microsoft Research, she’s working on technical tools that will help us wrangle our data, extract knowledge from it, and communicate with it in a[...]

This episode first aired in January, 2018. When we look at a skyscraper or a suspension bridge, a simple search engine box on a screen looks tiny by comparison. But Dr. Simon Peyton Jones would like to remind us that computer programs, with hundreds of millions of lines of code, are actually among the largest[...]

This episode first aired in March, 2018. There’s a big gap between memory and storage, and Dr. Anirudh Badam, of the Systems Research Group at Microsoft Research, wants to close it. With projects like Navamem, which explores how systems can get faster and better by adopting new memory technologies, and HashCache, which brings with it[...]

Dr. Johannes Gehrke is a Microsoft Technical Fellow and head of Architecture and Machine Learning for the Intelligent Communications and Conversations Cloud in Microsoft’s Experiences and Devices division. But lest you think his lofty position makes him in any way superior to you, let me tell you, he knows who works for whom, and he’ll[...]

This episode first aired in November, 2017 - Dr. Jaime Teevan has a lot to say about productivity in a fragmented culture, and some solutions that seem promising, if somewhat counterintuitive.Dr. Teevan is a Microsoft researcher, University of Washington Affiliate Professor, and the mother of 4 young boys. Today she talks about what she calls[...]

This episode first aired in January, 2018. As the reality of artificial intelligence continues to capture our imagination, and critical AI systems enter our world at a rapid pace, Dr. Ece Kamar, a senior researcher in the Adaptive Systems and Interaction Group at Microsoft Research, is working to help us understand AI’s far-reaching implications, both[...]

If you’re like me, you’re no longer amazed by how all your technologies can work for you. Rather, you’ve begun to take for granted that they simply should work for you. Instantly. All together. All the time. The fact that you’re not amazed is a testimony to the work that people like Dr. Lidong Zhou,[...]

Dr. Chris Bishop is a Microsoft Technical Fellow and director of MSR Cambridge, where he oversees an impressive portfolio of research including machine learning, AI, healthcare and gaming. Phil Spencer is the Executive Vice President of Gaming at Microsoft where he oversees everything from the design of the next Xbox console to the creation and[...]

You may not know who Dr. Andrew Fitzgibbon is, but if you’ve watched a TV show or movie in the last two decades, you’ve probably seen some of his work. An expert in 3D computer vision and graphics, and head of the new All Data AI group at Microsoft Research Cambridge, Dr. Fitzgibbon was instrumental[...]

If you’ve recently found it more difficult to focus your attention for a lengthy stretch of time in order to get a complex task done… or worse, found it difficult even to find a lengthy stretch of time in which to try, you’re not alone. And actually, you’re in luck. Dr. Shamsi Iqbal, a senior[...]

Machine learning is a powerful tool that enables computers to learn by observing the world, recognizing patterns and self-training via experience. Much like humans. But while machines perform well when they can extract knowledge from large amounts of labeled data, their learning outcomes remain vastly inferior to humans when data is limited. That’s why Dr.[...]

If you’re in software development, Dr. Tom Zimmermann, a senior researcher at Microsoft Research in Redmond, wants you to be more productive, and he’s here to help. How, you might ask? Well, while productivity can be hard to measure, his research in the Empirical Software Engineering group is attempting to do just that by using[...]

When was the last time you had a meaningful conversation with your computer… and felt like it truly understood you? Well, if Dr. Xuedong Huang, a Microsoft Technical Fellow and head of Microsoft’s Speech and Language group, is successful, you will. And if his track record holds true, it’ll be sooner than you think! On[...]

Dr. John Langford, a partner researcher in the Machine Learning group at Microsoft Research New York City, is a reinforcement learning expert who is working, in his own words, to solve machine learning. Rafah Hosn, also of MSR New York, is a principal program manager who’s working to take that work to the world. If[...]

If you want to know what’s going on in the world of human computer interaction research, or what’s new at the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, you should hang out with Dr. Ken Hinckley, a principal researcher and research manager in the EPIC group at Microsoft Research, and Dr. Merrie Ringel Morris,[...]

In the world of relational databases, structured query language, or SQL, has long been King of the Queries, primarily because of its ubiquity and unparalleled performance. But many users prefer a mix of imperative programming, along with declarative SQL, because its user-defined functions (or UDFs) allow for good software engineering practices like modularity, readability and[...]

We hear a lot these days about “AI for good” and the efforts of many companies to harness the power of artificial intelligence to solve some of our biggest environmental challenges. It’s rare, however, that you find a company willing to bring its environmental bona fides all the way to the C Suite. Well, meet[...]

  Dr. Marc Pollefeys is a Professor of Computer Science at ETH Zurich, a Partner Director of Science for Microsoft, and the Director of a new Microsoft Mixed Reality and AI lab in Switzerland. He’s a leader in the field of computer vision research, but it’s hard to pin down whether his work is really[...]

Ann Paradiso is an interaction designer and the Principal User Experience Designer for the NExT Enable group at Microsoft Research. She’s also the epitome of a phrase she often uses to describe other people: a force of nature. Together with a diverse array of team members and collaborators, many of whom have ALS or other[...]

This episode first aired in September, 2018: You may have heard the phrase, necessity is the mother of invention, but for Dr. Nicolo Fusi, a researcher at the Microsoft Research lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the mother of his invention wasn’t so much necessity as it was boredom: the special machine learning boredom of manually fine-tuning[...]

If you’ve ever played video games, you know that for the most part, they look a lot better than they sound. That’s largely due to the fact that audible sound waves are much longer – and a lot more crafty – than visual light waves, and therefore, much more difficult to replicate in simulated environments.[...]

When we think of information processing systems, we often think of computers, but we ourselves are made up of information processing systems – trillions of them – also known as the cells in our bodies. While these cells are robust, they’re also extraordinarily complex and not altogether predictable. Wouldn’t it be great, asks Dr. Andrew[...]

This episode first aired in August of 2018. You know those people who work behind the scenes to make sure nothing bad happens to you, and if they’re really good, you never know who they are because nothing bad happens to you? Well, meet one of those people. Dr. Brian LaMacchia is a Distinguished Engineer[...]

If you’ve ever wondered why, in the age of the internet, we still don’t hold our elections online, you need to spend more time with Dr. Josh Benaloh, Senior Cryptographer at Microsoft Research in Redmond. Josh knows a lot about elections, and even more about homomorphic encryption, the mathematical foundation behind the end-to-end verifiable election[...]

Humans are unique in their ability to learn from, understand the world through and communicate with language… Or are they? Perhaps not for long, if Dr. Layla El Asri, a Research Manager at Microsoft Research Montreal, has a say in it. She wants you to be able to talk to your machine just like you’d[...]

If every question in life could be answered by choosing from just a few options, machine learning would be pretty simple, and life for machine learning researchers would be pretty sweet. Unfortunately, in both life and machine learning, things are a bit more complicated. That’s why Dr. Manik Varma, Principal Researcher at MSR India, is[...]

Haiyan Zhang is a designer, technologist and maker of things (really cool technical things) who currently holds the unusual title of Innovation Director at the Microsoft Research lab in Cambridge, England. There, she applies her unusual skillset to a wide range of unusual solutions to real-life problems, many of which draw on novel applications of[...]

From his deep technical roots as a principal researcher and founder of the Communications, Collaboration and Signal Processing group at MSR, through his tenure as Managing Director of the lab in Redmond, to his current role as Distinguished Engineer, Chief Scientist for Microsoft Research and manager of the MSR NExT Enable group, Dr. Rico Malvar[...]

You never know how an incident in your own life might inspire a breakthrough in science, but Dr. Cecily Morrison, a researcher in the Human Computer Interaction group at Microsoft Research Cambridge, can attest to how even unexpected events can cause us to see things through a different – more inclusive – lens and, ultimately,[...]

The entertainment industry has long offered us a vision of the perfect personal assistant: one that not only meets our stated needs but anticipates needs we didn’t even know we had. But these uber-assistants, from the preternaturally prescient Radar O’Reilly in the TV show M.A.S.H. to Tony Stark’s digital know-and-do-it-all Jarvis in Iron Man, have[...]

When people first started making software, computers were relatively rare and there was no internet, so programming languages were designed to get the job done quickly and run efficiently, with little thought for security. But software is everywhere now, from our desktops to our cars, from the cloud to the internet of things. That’s why[...]

The episode first aired in May, 2018.In the world of machine learning, there’s been a notable trade-off between accuracy and intelligibility. Either the models are accurate but difficult to make sense of, or easy to understand but prone to error. That’s why Dr. Rich Caruana, Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research, has spent a good part[...]

This episode first aired in January, 2018.When we look at a skyscraper or a suspension bridge, a simple search engine box on a screen looks tiny by comparison. But Dr. Simon Peyton Jones would like to remind us that computer programs, with hundreds of millions of lines of code, are actually among the largest structures[...]

This episode first aired in March, 2018.Learning to read, think and communicate effectively is part of the curriculum for every young student. But Dr. Adam Trischler, Research Manager and leader of the Machine Comprehension team at Microsoft Research Montreal, would like to make it part of the curriculum for your computer as well. And he’s[...]

Amos Miller is a product strategist on the Microsoft Research NeXT Enable team, and he’s played a pivotal role in bringing some of MSR’s most innovative research to users with disabilities. He also happens to be blind, so he can appreciate, perhaps in ways others can’t, the value of the technologies he works on, like[...]

Dr. Sebastien Bubeck is a mathematician and a senior researcher in the Machine Learning and Optimization group at Microsoft Research. He’s also a self-proclaimed “bandit” who claims that, despite all the buzz around AI, it’s still a science in its infancy. That’s why he’s devoted his career to advancing the mathematical foundations behind the machine[...]

Dr. Christopher Bishop is quite a fellow. Literally. Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Fellow of Darwin College in Cambridge, England. Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Fellow of The Royal Society. Microsoft Technical Fellow. And one of the nicest fellows you’re likely to meet! He’s also Director of the Microsoft Research lab[...]

This episode first aired in March (2018)One of the most intriguing areas of machine learning research is affective computing, where scientists are working to bridge the gap between human emotions and computers. It is here, at the intersection of psychology and computer science, that we find Dr. Daniel McDuff, who has been designing systems, from[...]

After decades of research in processing audio signals, we’ve reached the point of so-called performance saturation. But recent advances in machine learning and signal processing algorithms have paved the way for a revolution in speech recognition technology and audio signal processing. Dr. Ivan Tashev, a Partner Software Architect in the Audio and Acoustics Group at[...]

In 1998, Microsoft Research opened a small lab in Beijing to expand its research efforts and draw on the immense high-tech talent pool in China. No one expected that only twenty years later, MSR Asia would become the dynamic organization it is today, with innovative research contributing to nearly every part of Microsoft’s business. Dr.[...]

As traditional semiconductor technologies for computer storage scale down, everyone is looking for alternative solutions to the growing gap between the amount of data we’re capable of producing and the amount of data we’re capable of storing. While some have focused on hardware accelerators for machine learning, and others are investigating new memory technologies, Dr.[...]

  The ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius famously exhorted his pupils to study the past if they would divine the future. In 2018, we get the same advice from a decidedly more modern, but equally philosophical Bill Buxton, Principal Researcher in the HCI group at Microsoft Research. In addition to his pioneering work in computer science[...]

2018 marks the 10th anniversary of Microsoft Research New England in Cambridge, Massachusetts, so it’s the perfect time to talk with someone who was there from the lab’s beginning: Technical Fellow, Managing Director and Co-founder, Dr. Jennifer Chayes. But not only does Dr. Chayes run the New England lab of MSR, she also directs two[...]

Asta Roseway has a formal title. It’s Principal Research Designer in the HCI group at Microsoft Research. But she’s also been described as a conductor, an alchemist, a millennial in a Gen-Xer’s body and, in her own words, a fusionist. What’s a fusionist, you might ask? Well, you’re about to find out. On today’s podcast,[...]

You may have heard the phrase, necessity is the mother of invention, but for Dr. Nicolo Fusi, a researcher at the Microsoft Research lab in Cambridge, MA, the mother of his invention wasn’t so much necessity as it was boredom: the special machine learning boredom of manually fine-tuning models and hyper-parameters that can eat up[...]

At the heart of any vibrant research community, you’ll find a diverse range of scientists. You’re also likely to find a robust internship program, like the one at Microsoft Research. This summer, MSR welcomed another stellar group of interns who had the opportunity to learn, collaborate, and network with colleagues and mentors who will impact[...]

Dr. Nancy Baym is a communication scholar, a Principal Researcher in MSR’s Cambridge, Massachusetts, lab, and something of a cyberculture maven. She’s spent nearly three decades studying how people use communication technologies in their everyday relationships and written several books on the subject. The big take away? Communication technologies may have changed drastically over the[...]

Datacenters have a hard time keeping their cool. Literally. And with more and more datacenters coming online all over the world, calls for innovative solutions to “cool the cloud” are getting loud. So, Ben Cutler and the Special Projects team at Microsoft Research decided to try to beat the heat by using one of the[...]

The wildly popular video game, Minecraft, might appear to be an unlikely candidate for machine learning research, but to Dr. Katja Hofmann, the research lead of Project Malmo in the Machine Intelligence and Perception Group at Microsoft Research in Cambridge, England, it’s the perfect environment for teaching AI agents, via reinforcement learning, to act intelligently[...]

You know those people who work behind the scenes to make sure nothing bad happens to you, and if they’re really good, you never know who they are because nothing bad happens to you? Well, meet one of those people. Dr. Brian LaMacchia is a Distinguished Engineer and he heads up the Security and Cryptography[...]

If your idea of a great job includes pursuing untethered research, shepherding brilliant researchers and helping shape the long-term strategy of one of the largest tech companies in the world… oh, and also publishing prolifically, authoring patents, winning awards and speaking around the world… you are in good company. That’s what Dr. Victor Bahl, Distinguished[...]

Kevin Scott has embraced many roles over the course of his illustrious career in technology: software developer, engineering executive, researcher, angel investor, philanthropist, and now, Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft. But perhaps no role suits him so well – or has so fundamentally shaped all the others – as his self-described role of “all-around geek.”[...]

Dr. Lenin Ravindranath Sivalingam is a researcher by trade, but by nature, he’s an entrepreneur, and a hacker with a heart of gold. It’s this combination of skill and passion that informs his work at Microsoft Research, driving him to discover and build tools that will make life both easier for developers and better for[...]

First aired on January 17, 2018. If someone mentions quantum computing, and you find yourself outwardly nodding your head, but secretly shaking it, you’re in good company: some of the world’s smartest people admit they don’t really understand it either. Fortunately, some of the world’s other smartest people, like Dr. Krysta Svore, Principal Research Manager[...]

First aired on December 4th, 2017. When it comes to artificial intelligence, Dr. Eric Horvitz is as passionate as he is accomplished. His contributions to the field, and service on the boards of nearly every technical academy and association in the country, have earned him the respect – and awe – of his colleagues, along[...]

This episode first aired in January (2018).In an era of AI breakthroughs and other exciting advances in computer science, Dr. Ben Zorn would like to remind us that behind every great technical revolution is… a programming language. As a Principal Researcher and the Co-director of RiSE – or Research in Software Engineering – group at[...]

This episode first aired in April (2018). When we think about artificial intelligence and the “world of the future,” our vision is usually more Jetsons than Green Acres. But for Dr. Ranveer Chandra, a Principal Researcher in the Systems and Networking group at Microsoft Research, rural farms are the perfect place to realize the benefits[...]

Developing complex artificial intelligence systems in a lab is a challenging task, but what happens when they go into production and interact with real humans? That’s what researchers like Dr. Fernando Diaz, a Principal Research Manager at Microsoft Research Montreal, want to know. He and his colleagues are trying to understand – and address –[...]

This episode first aired in November (2017). Dr. Jaime Teevan has a lot to say about productivity in a fragmented culture, and some solutions that seem promising, if somewhat counter-intuitive. Dr. Teevan is a Microsoft researcher, University of Washington Affiliate Professor, and the mother of four young boys. Today she talks about what she calls[...]

In technical terms, computer vision researchers “build algorithms and systems to automatically analyze imagery and extract knowledge from the visual world.” In layman’s terms, they build machines that can see. And that’s exactly what Principal Researcher and Research Manager, Dr. Gang Hua, and Computer Vision Technology team, are doing. Because being able to see is[...]

When we think of medals, we usually picture them over the pocket of a military hero, not over the pocket protector of a computer scientist. That may be because not many academics end up working with the Department of Defense. But Dr. Chris White, now a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research, has, and he’s received[...]

In the world of machine learning, there’s been a notable trade-off between accuracy and intelligibility. Either the models are accurate but difficult to make sense of, or easy to understand but prone to error. That’s why Dr. Rich Caruana, Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research, has spent a good part of his career working to make[...]

With 7 billion people on the planet, you might be surprised to learn that approximately a billion of those people experience some form of disability. Enter Principal Researcher and Research Manager, Dr. Merrie Ringel Morris, and the Ability Group at Microsoft Research. They’re working to remove accessibility barriers both to and through technology, empowering people[...]

Humans are wired to communicate, but we don’t always understand each other. Especially when we don’t speak the same language. But Arul Menezes, the Partner Research Manager who heads MSR’s Machine Translation team, is working to remove language barriers to help people communicate better. And with the help of some innovative machine learning techniques, and[...]

Some of the world’s leading architects are people that you’ve probably never heard of, and they’ve designed and built some of the world’s most amazing structures that you’ve probably never seen. Or at least you don’t think you have. One of these architects is Dr. Doug Burger, Distinguished Engineer at Microsoft Research NExT. And, if[...]

Autonomous flying agents – or flying robots – may seem like the stuff of sci-fi to the average person, but to Dr. Ashish Kapoor, Principal Researcher and Research Manager of the Aerial Informatics and Robotics Group at Microsoft Research, they’re much closer to science than to fiction. And, having built – and flight tested –[...]

Teaching computers to read, think and communicate like humans is a daunting task, but it’s one that Dr. Geoff Gordon embraces with enthusiasm and optimism. Moving from an academic role at Carnegie Mellon University, to a new role as Research Director of the Microsoft Research Lab in Montreal, Dr. Gordon embodies the current trend toward[...]

Emotions are fundamental to human interaction, but in a world where humans are increasingly interacting with AI systems, Dr. Mary Czerwinski, Principal Researcher and Research Manager of the Visualization and Interaction for Business and Entertainment group at Microsoft Research, believes emotions may be fundamental to our interactions with machines as well. And through her team’s[...]

From ancient hieroglyphics to secret decoder rings to World War II Enigma code-makers and code-breakers, cryptography has always held a particular fascination for us. But few of us have the skills – or can actually do the math – to unlock the mysteries of encrypted data. Fortunately, Dr. Kristin Lauter, distinguished mathematician, founder of the[...]

When we think about artificial intelligence and the “world of the future,” our vision is usually more Jetsons than Green Acres. But for Dr. Ranveer Chandra, a Principal Researcher in the Systems and Networking group at Microsoft Research, rural farms are the perfect place to realize the benefits of AI through what he calls precision[...]

One of the most intriguing areas of machine learning research is affective computing, where scientists are working to bridge the gap between human emotions and computers. It is here, at the intersection of psychology and computer science, that we find Dr. Daniel McDuff, who has been designing systems, from hardware to algorithms, that can sense[...]

Learning to read, think and communicate effectively is part of the curriculum for every young student. But Dr. Adam Trischler, Research Manager and leader of the Machine Comprehension team at Microsoft Research Montreal, would like to make it part of the curriculum for your computer as well. And he’s working on that, using methods from[...]

  There’s a big gap between memory and storage, and Dr. Anirudh Badam, of the Systems Research Group at Microsoft Research, wants to close it. With projects like Navamem, which explores how systems can get faster and better by adopting new memory technologies, and HashCache, which brings with it the promise of storage for the[...]

  Artificial intelligence has captured our imagination and made many things we would have thought impossible only a few years ago seem commonplace today. But AI has also raised some challenging issues for society writ large. Enter Dr. Kate Crawford, a principal researcher at the New York City lab of Microsoft Research. Dr. Crawford, along[...]

  With all the sensational headlines about artificial intelligence, it’s reassuring to know that some of the world’s most brilliant minds are developing AI systems for entirely practical reasons. One of those minds belongs to Dr. Antonio Criminisi, a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research in Cambridge, England. And one of those reasons is to help[...]

  If you’ve ever wondered if you could find the perfect combination of computer scientist… and Macgyver, look no further than Dr. Peli de Halleux, principal Research Software Design Engineer at Microsoft Research. A key member of the MSR RiSE team, Peli is part of the MakeCode initiative that brings physical computing to classrooms around[...]

Big data is a big deal, and if you follow the popular technical press, you’ll have heard all the metaphors: data is the new oil, the new bacon, the new currency, the new electricity. It’s even been called the new black. While data may not actually be any of these things, we can say this:[...]

Every day, computers take on more and more of our daily tasks. Fill in a few cells on your spreadsheet? It’ll fill in the rest. Ask your car for directions? It’ll get you there. Anymore, we can program computers to do almost anything. But what about programming computers to… program computers? That’s a task that[...]

  As the reality of artificial intelligence continues to capture our imagination, and critical AI systems enter our world at a rapid pace, Dr. Ece Kamar, a senior researcher in the Adaptive Systems and Interaction Group at Microsoft Research, is working to help us understand AI’s far-reaching implications, both as we use it, and as[...]

  If someone mentions quantum computing, and you find yourself outwardly nodding your head, but secretly shaking it, you’re in good company: some of the world’s smartest people admit they don’t really understand it either. Fortunately, some of the world’s other smartest people, like Dr. Krysta Svore, Principal Research Manager of the Microsoft Quantum –[...]

  When we look at a skyscraper or a suspension bridge, a simple search engine box on a screen looks tiny by comparison. But Dr. Simon Peyton Jones would like to remind us that computer programs, with hundreds of millions of lines of code, are actually among the largest structures human beings have ever built.[...]

In an era of AI breakthroughs and other exciting advances in computer science, Dr. Ben Zorn would like to remind us that behind every great technical revolution is a… programming language. As a Principal Researcher and the Co-director of RiSE – or Research in Software Engineering – group at Microsoft Research, Dr. Zorn has dedicated[...]

In a wide-ranging interview, veteran Microsoft Researcher, Dr. Steven Drucker talks about his work in data visualization, the importance of clear communication in a world of complex algorithms and big data, and the long, slow work of big breakthroughs. He also offers some pro-tips to aspiring researchers, and tells us why stand-up comedy is an[...]

On today’s episode, neuroscientist and virtual reality researcher, Dr. Mar Gonzalez Franco, talks about her work in VR, explains how avatars can help increase our empathy and reduce our biases via role play, and addresses the misconceptions that exist between the immersive experiences of virtual reality and psychedelic drugs.

If you’ve ever watched King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters, you know what a big deal it is to beat a video arcade game that was designed not to lose. Most humans can’t even come close. Enter Harm van Seijen, and a team of machine learning researchers from Microsoft Maluuba in Montreal. They took on[...]

When it comes to artificial intelligence, Dr. Eric Horvitz is as passionate as he is accomplished. His contributions to the field, and service on the boards of nearly every technical academy and association in the country, have earned him the respect – and awe – of his colleagues, along with the position of Technical Fellow[...]

Dr. Jaime Teevan has a lot to say about productivity in a fragmented culture, and some solutions that seem promising, if somewhat counter-intuitive. Dr. Teevan is a Microsoft researcher, University of Washington Affiliate Professor, and the mother of four young boys. Today she talks about what she calls the productivity revolution, and explains how her[...]