Microsoft dropped some potential deals over AI ethical concerns

According to a director at Microsoft Research Labs, the company has dropped some potential deals with customers over ethical concerns their AI technology may be misused. Speaking at the Carnegie Mellon University – K&L Gates Conference on Ethics and AI in Pittsburgh, Eric Horvitz made the revelation. He says the group at Microsoft looking into possible misuse on a case-by-case basis is the Aether Committee (“Aether” stands for AI and Ethics in Engineering and...

10 April 2018 | Ethics

Opinion: Microsoft now considers AI a top priority – and it’s about time

Microsoft should be a pioneer alongside Google when it comes to artificial intelligence, but the company only now appears to consider it a priority. In the company's annual report for the 2017 fiscal year, AI is now mentioned on six occasions. Compared to not a single mention in the previous report, it’s clear Microsoft is now putting more of its focus on artificial intelligence. Microsoft also indicates this in their corporate vision statement: "Our strategic vision is to compete and...

4 August 2017 | Developers