Podcasts about Microsoft Research

What if the key to innovation isn't a process, but a mindset that travels across boundaries, disciplines, and decades?   From international development to McKinsey to leading AI strategy at Microsoft, Dean Carignan has built his career at the intersection of systems, people, and impact. Now, as co-author of The Insider's Guide to Innovation at Microsoft, he's helping organizations rethink how real innovation happens, not just in startups or labs, but in legacy institutions and global companies.   In this episode, Dean shares lessons from two decades at Microsoft, where he's worked across Xbox, Office, cognitive services, and AI research. He also reflects on why innovation is ultimately about people, not products, and how leaders can create space for meaningful change, even inside complex organizations.   We explore: How Dean moved from solving global problems at the World Bank to driving change inside one of the world's largest tech companies The power of being a “boundary crosser” and why innovation happens in the in-between Why mission often outperforms money as a motivator, especially in hiring for impact The overlooked value of storytelling in innovation (and how case studies bring ideas to life) How AI is transforming not only productivity, but the very nature of scientific discovery Why learning to build with agents may be the most valuable skill of the next decade   Dean also shares practical examples of how he uses AI today, from research to writing to daily decision-making, and why “thinking about thinking” is the leadership advantage most people overlook.   Whether you're guiding a team through change, building a new product, or trying to stay ahead of the AI curve, this conversation offers a grounded, human-centered approach to innovation in a time of exponential possibility.   Dean Carignan's career spans international economic development, startup ventures, and strategic roles in technology. He is an alumnus of Georgetown University and INSEAD, he was a charter member of McKinsey & Company's advanced technology practice.   During his 20 years at Microsoft, he has guided new businesses, including the early internet division, Xbox, and multiple Al efforts through the critical growth phases to their first billion dollars in revenue.   Most recently, Dean has focused on leading AI innovations within Microsoft Research and the Office of the Chief Scientist. His intrapreneurial spirit, deep institutional knowledge, and expansive internal network made the behind-the-scenes perspective of The Insider's Guide to Innovation at Microsoft   Get Dean's book here: https://www.innovationatmicrosoft.com/ The Insider's Guide to Innovation at Microsoft   Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach   McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf   Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Christopher Nolan's upcoming Odyssey film will be shot entirely on IMAX with newly developed cameras, companies are reassessing their AI investments after disappointing returns, and Microsoft Research has created a new AI model that can identify when it might be providing inaccurate information.

In the first episode of our new season on developer experience, the cofounder and CTO of SDF Labs, now a part of dbt Labs, discusses databases, compilers, and dev tools. Wolfram spent close to two decades in Microsoft Research and several years at Meta building their data platform. For full show notes and to read 6+ years of back issues of the podcast's companion newsletter, head to https://roundup.getdbt.com. The Analytics Engineering Podcast is sponsored by dbt Labs.

In this episode of ACM ByteCast, our special guest host Scott Hanselman (of The Hanselminutes Podcast) welcomes ACM Fellow Peter Lee, President of Microsoft Research. As leader of Microsoft Research, Peter incubates new research-powered products and lines of business in areas such as AI, computing foundations, health, and life sciences. Before Microsoft, he established a new technology office that created operational capabilities in ML, data science, and computational social science at DARPA, and before that he was head of the CS department at CMU. Peter served on President Obama's Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity and has testified before both the US House Science and Technology Committee and the US Senate Commerce Committee. He coauthored the bestselling book The AI Revolution in Medicine: GPT-4 and Beyond. In 2024, he was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in health and life sciences. In the interview, Peter reflects on his 40+ years in computer science, from working on PDP-11s and Commodore Amigas to modern AI advancements. He highlights how modern technologies, built on decades of research, have become indispensable. He also talks about his healthcare journey, including work that earned him election to the National Academy of Medicine, and the potential (and limitations) of AI in medicine. Peter and Scott touch on the impact of LLMs, the lack of ethics education in traditional CS curricula, the challenges posed by growing AI complexity. Peter also highlights some important Microsoft Research work in AI for Science and Quantum Computing.

Send us a text*Agents, Causal AI & The Future of DoWhy*The idea of agentic systems taking over more complex human tasks is compelling.New "production-grade" frameworks to build agentic systems pop up, suggesting that we're close to achieving full automation of these challenging multi-step tasks.But is the underlying agentic technology itself ready for production?And if not, can LLM-based systems help us making better decisions?Recent new developments in the DoWhy/PyWhy ecosystem might bring some answers.Will they—combined with new methods for validating causal models now available in DoWhy—impact the way we build and interact with causal models in industry?------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Video version available on Youtube: https://youtu.be/8yWKQqNFrmYRecorded on Mar 12, 2025 in Bengaluru, India.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*About The Guest*Amit Sharma is a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research and one of the original creators of the open-source Python library DoWhy, considered the "scikit-learn of causal inference." He holds a PhD in Computer Science from Cornell University. His research focuses on causality and its intersection with LLM-based and agentic systems. Amit deeply cares about the social impact of machine learning systems and sees causality as one of the main drivers of more useful and robust systems.Connect with Amit:- Amit on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amitshar/- Amit on BlueSky:- Amit 's web page: http://amitsharma.in/*About The Host*Everyday AI: Your daily guide to grown with Generative AICan't keep up with AI? We've got you. Everyday AI helps you keep up and get ahead.Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the showCausal Bandits PodcastCausal AI || Causal Machine Learning || Causal Inference & DiscoveryWeb: https://causalbanditspodcast.comConnect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleksandermolak/Join Causal Python Weekly: https://causalpython.io The Causal Book: https://amzn.to/3QhsRz4

This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we're featuring highlights from a live interview with Nathan Myhrvold, CEO of Intellectual Ventures and former chief technology officer at Microsoft. Myhrvold worked at Microsoft from 1986 to 2000, where he laid the groundwork for Microsoft Research, recruited top computer scientists, and played a key role in shaping the company’s technology strategy. Since leaving Microsoft, he has worked across fields including energy, science, physics, paleontology, photography, and high-tech cuisine. In this conversation, recorded at Town Hall Seattle as part of GeekWire’s Microsoft@50 event, Myhrvold shares his thoughts on the rise of AI, his longtime collaboration with Bill Gates, the future of energy, the secrets of Microsoft’s success, and what’s next in his Modernist Cuisine book series. Edited by Curt Milton; With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

OpenAI researcher Adam Kalai sits down with UC San Diego professor to discuss his work in machine learning, algorithmic fairness, and artificial intelligence. Kalai has contributed research in areas like fairness in AI models, word embeddings, and human-AI collaboration. He has worked at Microsoft Research and has published influential papers on bias in machine learning models. His work has helped shape discussions on ethical AI and the development of more equitable AI systems. Series: "Data Science Channel" [Science] [Show ID: 40264]

OpenAI researcher Adam Kalai sits down with UC San Diego professor Mikhail Belkin to discuss his work in machine learning, algorithmic fairness, and artificial intelligence. Kalai has contributed research in areas like fairness in AI models, word embeddings, and human-AI collaboration. He has worked at Microsoft Research and has published influential papers on bias in machine learning models. His work has helped shape discussions on ethical AI and the development of more equitable AI systems. Series: "Data Science Channel" [Science] [Show ID: 40264]

OpenAI researcher Adam Kalai sits down with UC San Diego professor Mikhail Belkin to discuss his work in machine learning, algorithmic fairness, and artificial intelligence. Kalai has contributed research in areas like fairness in AI models, word embeddings, and human-AI collaboration. He has worked at Microsoft Research and has published influential papers on bias in machine learning models. His work has helped shape discussions on ethical AI and the development of more equitable AI systems. Series: "Data Science Channel" [Science] [Show ID: 40264]

OpenAI researcher Adam Kalai sits down with UC San Diego professor Mikhail Belkin to discuss his work in machine learning, algorithmic fairness, and artificial intelligence. Kalai has contributed research in areas like fairness in AI models, word embeddings, and human-AI collaboration. He has worked at Microsoft Research and has published influential papers on bias in machine learning models. His work has helped shape discussions on ethical AI and the development of more equitable AI systems. Series: "Data Science Channel" [Science] [Show ID: 40264]

Two years ago, OpenAI's GPT-4 kick-started a new era in AI. In the months leading up to its public release, Peter Lee, president of Microsoft Research, cowrote a book full of optimism for the potential of advanced AI models to transform the world of healthcare. What has happened since? In this special podcast series—The AI Revolution in Medicine, Revisited—Lee revisits the book, exploring how patients, providers, and other medical professionals are experiencing and using generative AI today while examining what he and his coauthors got right—and what they didn't foresee.In this episode, Dr. Christopher Longhurst and Dr. Sara Murray, leading experts in healthcare AI implementation, join Lee to discuss the current state and future of AI in clinical settings. Longhurst, chief clinical and innovation officer at UC San Diego Health and executive director of the Jacobs Center for Health Innovation, details his healthcare system's collaboration with Epic and Microsoft to integrate GPT into their electronic health record system, offering clinicians support in responding to patient messages. Dr. Murray, chief health AI officer at UC San Francisco Health, discusses AI's integration into clinical workflows, the promise and risks of AI-driven decision-making, and how generative AI is reshaping patient care and physician workload.Learn more:Large Language Models for More Efficient Reporting of Hospital Quality MeasuresGenerative artificial intelligence responses to patient messages in the electronic health record: early lessons learnedThe Chief Health AI Officer — An Emerging Role for an Emerging TechnologyAI-Generated Draft Replies Integrated Into Health Records and Physicians' Electronic Communication Comparing Physician and Artificial Intelligence Chatbot Responses to Patient Questions Posted to a Public Social Media Forum The AI Revolution in Medicine: GPT-4 and Beyond

This episode of the Lawfare Podcast features Glen Weyl, economist and author at Microsoft Research; Jacob Mchangama, Executive Director of the Future of Free Speech Project at Vanderbilt; and Ravi Iyer, Managing Director of the USC Marshall School Neely Center.Together with Renee DiResta, Associate Research Professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown and Contributing Editor at Lawfare, they talk about design vs moderation. Conversations about the challenges of social media often focus on moderation—what stays up and what comes down. Yet the way a social media platform is built influences everything from what we see, to what is amplified, to what content is created in the first place—as users respond to incentives, nudges, and affordances. Design processes are often invisible or opaque, and users have little power—though new decentralized platforms are changing that. So they talk about designing a prosocial media for the future, and the potential for an online world without Caesars.Articles Referenced:https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.10834https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4178647https://www.techdirt.com/2025/01/27/empowering-users-not-overlords-overcoming-digital-helplessness/https://kgi.georgetown.edu/research-and-commentary/better-feeds/https://knightcolumbia.org/content/the-algorithmic-management-of-polarization-and-violence-on-social-mediahttps://time.com/7258238/social-media-tang-siddarth-weyl/https://futurefreespeech.org/scope-creep/https://futurefreespeech.org/preventing-torrents-of-hate-or-stifling-free-expression-online/https://www.thefai.org/posts/shaping-the-future-of-social-media-with-middlewareTo receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Peter Lee, Microsoft Research president, discusses the motivation behind the new series and the GPT-4 encounter that helped him view the tech not only as a potential tool for improving healthcare but a chance to reexamine what it means to care for people. 

En EEUU, un nuevo estudio científico realizado por un grupo de investigadores de Microsoft Research y la Universidad Carnegie Mellon, con sede en Pittsburgh, Pensilvania ,advierte que el uso inadecuado de la inteligencia artificial puede afcetra la capacidad de pensamiento crítico. La conclusión de la investigación es que la dependencia de herramientas de IA sin cuestionar su validez reduce el esfuerzo cognitivo aplicado al trabajo. En pocas palabras: el usuario se vuelve tonto si se deja llevar.

In this episode of Campus Technology Insider Podcast Shorts, host Rhea Kelly presents the latest stories in education technology. Highlights include Penn State's collaboration with IBM to launch MyResource, an AI virtual assistant for student services, and Microsoft's unveiling of its first quantum chip, the Majorana 1. Additionally, a Carnegie Mellon University and Microsoft Research study explores the impact of generative AI on critical thinking. Tune in for more details on how these advancements are shaping the future of education and technology. 00:00 Introduction and Host Welcome 00:17 Penn State's AI Virtual Assistant Initiative 01:00 Microsoft's Breakthrough Quantum Chip 01:28 Impact of Generative AI on Critical Thinking 02:04 Conclusion and Further Resources Source links: Penn State Building AI Student Concierge to Foster Student Success Microsoft Introduces Its First Quantum Computing Chip Study: Generative AI Could Inhibit Critical Thinking Campus Technology Insider Podcast Shorts are curated by humans and narrated by AI.

Hey all, Alex here

Description: Co-hosts of EqualAI's AI Literacy Series, Miriam Vogel and Rosalind Wiseman sit down with danah boyd, Partner Researcher at Microsoft Research, visiting distinguished professor at Georgetown, and founder of Data & Society Research Institute, to explore how AI is reshaping education, social structures, and power dynamics. boyd challenges common assumptions about AI, urging us to move beyond simplistic narratives of good vs. bad and instead ask: Who is designing these systems? What are their limitations? And what kind of future are we building with them?Literacy Series Description: The EqualAI AI Literacy podcast series builds on In AI We Trust?'s global reach, focusing specifically on AI literacy. Featuring prominent leaders in the technology, education, and governance fields, this special series will provide listeners with valuable insights and discussions around AI's impact on society, leading efforts in this area of AI literacy, and how listeners can benefit from these experts and tools.

Figure, a leading robotics firm, has unveiled its latest innovation: Helix, a cutting-edge Vision-Language-Action (VLA) model designed for humanoid robots. This new technology represents a significant leap forward in the field of robotics, particularly in the realm of household assistance. Artie Intel and Micheline Learning report on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for the AI Report. VISIT OUR SPONSOR: Claude https://claude.ai Microsoft Research, in collaboration with Mayo Clinic, has developed a revolutionary AI model called RAD-DINO, designed to transform radiology practices. X, formerly known as Twitter, has recently upgraded its AI chatbot, Grok, with advanced image editing capabilities. OpenAI has been making waves with its recent "12 Days of OpenAI" event, unveiling several major AI advancements. Make.com - All the tools you need to design, build, automate, and scale your entire business.  President Trump has announced an ambitious AI infrastructure initiative called "The Stargate Project." This $500 billion plan aims to establish data centers and bolster AI capabilities across the United States. Tidio AI is making waves. It offers real-time insights into customer interactions and can manage a significant portion of inquiries autonomously The AI Report

My guest today is Razik Yousfi, CEO of Paige. What we discuss with Razik: Joined Paige in 2019 as Head of Engineering Transitioned to CEO to lead the organization in focusing on AI strengths Shift from a technical focus to overall company accountability. Increased responsibility in setting vision, strategy, and external representation. Importance of Data in AI AI models depend heavily on the quality of training data. Paige emphasizes diverse datasets to improve model performance. Access to a rich dataset from over 800 institutions in 45 countries. Foundation models enhance the ability to analyze rare cancers and biomarkers. Models trained on large datasets improve application development speed. Microsoft partnership including working with Microsoft Research and Azure. Potential for AI to improve patient care and outcomes through better data integration. Alba Introduction: Launched as a clinical-grade AI co-pilot for pathologists. Some foundation models, like Virchow, have been open-sourced for research. Open-sourcing aims to build trust, encourage benchmarking, and boost the ecosystem. Encourages collaboration and faster application development in pathology   Links for this episode: Health Podcast Network  LabVine Learning Dress A Med scrubs Digital Pathology Club   Paige Website   People of Pathology Podcast: Twitter Instagram

This week, Xbox unveiled MUSE, a generative AI model aimed at boosting creativity and possibilities for gameplay. Published in the journal Nature as well as announced by Microsoft Research, the Xbox team shared findings alongside Ninja Theory on what this new AI model that was trained on Bleeding Edge could accomplish. In the extensive write-ups, we learn about the principles of this AI model, what Xbox's mandate is for it across their first party studios, and even get teased a bit on what it could mean for backwards compatibility. However, is it all sunshine and roses here for Xbox's new approach to game development? The push for AI is on more than ever and it's no longer a matter of "if" but rather "when." Like any tool, its public perception will be dictated by how responsibly it is handled. Joining Matty this week is Brad, to clean up the AI mess, and dive into a whole bunch of other Xbox news. We follow up our last episode's conversation on Avowed, dig into the future of Obsidian, mull over yet another Phil Spencer interview, and plenty more in what is bound to be divisive subject for many listeners. Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. 0:00:00 - Intro/Avowed follow-up 0:22:33 - How will Obsidian scale after Avowed? 0:27:42 - Bobby Kotick interview 0:37:53 - Another Tony Hawk Pro Skater on the way? 0:45:09 - Jez Corden on Xbox's next console 0:56:28 - Machine Games grows 0:59:35 - Updates on the leaked Final Fantasy remakes 1:09:14 - Stalker 2 is getting its biggest update yet 1:11:49 - Lost Soul Aside is getting a physical copy! 1:12:44 - Fairgame$ has been pushed to 2026 1:15:07 - System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster is getting a release date soon 1:18:47 - Kingdom Come Deliverance passes 2 million copies sold 1:19:57 - Funko Fusion developer 10:10 has reportedly been hit with layoffs 1:22:22 - Visionary art director Viktor Antonov passed away at age 52 1:24:39 - What We're Playing 2:00:13 - Xbox introduces MUSE 2:35:24 - Phil Spencer interview 2:41:28 - Coming soon to Xbox Game Pass 2:43:30 - Game Pass Pick Of The Week Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's the Zenspath Entertainment Network Podcast Episode 162! Jeremy, Stephen, Rachel, & Chase are here to talk about Nintendo is ending their Gold Point & Game Voucher programs, Nintendo renews the trademark for their "Seal of Quality", Marvel & DC may have a new crossover event, Microsoft could be publishing more PS5 games than Sony in 2025, NetEase may be having problems, Microsoft Research shows of their Generative AI game making tool called "Muse", "The Speedrun", & more! Our "Big Question" for this week is "If you could bring back any cartoon from your childhood as a surprise new game…what series would you have covered (& maybe what kind of game should it be?)" Check out the video version of the podcast over at www.youtube.com/zenspathcom, share it with friends, give us a thumbs up, & leave us a review if you enjoy the show to help us grow! Website - https://www.zenspath.com Join our Discord - https://discord.com/invite/jsB8GURSvT ( bit.ly/zenspathdiscord ) Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/3scFDqv Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2nFegSJNWR0na1BAv6AOSD Libsyn - https://zenspath.libsyn.com/2024/02 Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/08ab7658-e7f2-43f9-b0de-5a12c8ff24a6/zenspath-entertainment-network  Join us on Discord at bit.ly/zenspathdiscord (https://discord.com/invite/jsB8GURSvT) Where to find us: https://twitter.com/zenspathpodcast for the show's Twitter/X Account Jeremy - Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/zenspath.com  Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/zenspathcom/ Threads - https://www.threads.net/@zenspathcom Hive - @zenspath Discord - @zenspath Twitch - https://twitch.tv/zenspath YouTube - https://youtube.com/zenspathcom Stephen - Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/n1ntendo.bsky.social Hive - @swantendo Discord - @n1ntendo. (don't forget the "." at the end!) Rachel - Twitter - https://twitter.com/Out_Racheous Threads - https://www.threads.net/@out_racheous Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/out_racheous/ Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/outracheous.bsky.social Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/outracheous Chase - X - https://twitter.com/LegioXGaming  Chris - He's around... #podcast #zenspathentertainmentnetwork #zenspath 

Microsoft Research develops a generative AI model that can build out game worlds. Humane, the makers of the failed Humane AI pin, is selling most of its company to HP for $116 million. Eufy announced the FamiLock S3 Max, a video lock that can automatically unlock doors when it reads the palms of authorized people. Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes in a separate page click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

In this AMA episode of "Behind the Tech," Kevin Scott and Christina Warren address a variety of listener questions, ranging from the impact of AI on learning and personal projects to the future of software development and AI regulation. Kevin shares his experience using AI for personal projects, such as making Japanese tea bowls, and discusses how AI has changed the way he approaches both work and hobbies. The conversation also touches on the potential for AI to reshape software development, with Kevin emphasizing the significant changes AI will bring to the field and the importance of adapting to these changes.    The episode also explores broader topics, such as the regulation of AI, the challenges of scaling AI in regions with limited technological infrastructure, and the role of creative leaders in the era of AI. Kevin highlights the need for consistent and agile regulation to ensure the safe and beneficial deployment of AI technologies. He also discusses the democratization of AI tools and the importance of connectivity in enabling access to these technologies. The episode concludes with a discussion on the evolving definition of a technologist and the blurring lines between technology and creativity, emphasizing the importance of human involvement in AI-driven art and innovation.    Kevin Scott   Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott   Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.    

We're experimenting and would love to hear from you!In this episode of 'Discover Daily', the mysterious world of AI advancements and scientific discoveries collide in this episode of Discover Daily, where we explore Elon Musk's latest AI breakthrough with Grok 3, a model claimed to be 10 times more powerful than its predecessor and running on a massive infrastructure of 100,000 Nvidia GPUs. The episode delves into how this development intensifies the competition in the AI landscape, challenging established players like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.We then examine groundbreaking research from Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University that reveals the complex relationship between AI and critical thinking in the workplace. The study shows how increased AI trust can lead to reduced critical thinking, while higher self-confidence enhances AI output evaluation, highlighting the evolving nature of knowledge work and the potential risks of over-reliance on AI systems.Our main segment looks at an extraordinary radioactive anomaly discovered in the Pacific Ocean's depths, where scientists have found unexpectedly high concentrations of beryllium-10 dating back to the late Miocene epoch. This discovery presents two competing theories: one suggesting a major reorganization of ocean currents, and another pointing to cosmic events like nearby supernovas, potentially revolutionizing our understanding of Earth's geological timeline and dating methods.From Perplexity's Discover Feed: https://www.perplexity.ai/page/musk-claims-grok-3-outperforms-lfwEvYJXSGCNKDqqptlPHw https://www.perplexity.ai/page/microsoft-study-ai-impairs-cri-hdDSSIGtSqS831ilUrANIg https://www.perplexity.ai/page/radioactive-anomaly-in-pacific-Aul4QisaTBmhzV5lJQMcfA**Introducing Perplexity Deep Research:**https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/introducing-perplexity-deep-research Perplexity is the fastest and most powerful way to search the web. Perplexity crawls the web and curates the most relevant and up-to-date sources (from academic papers to Reddit threads) to create the perfect response to any question or topic you're interested in. Take the world's knowledge with you anywhere. Available on iOS and Android Join our growing Discord community for the latest updates and exclusive content. Follow us on: Instagram Threads X (Twitter) YouTube Linkedin

Today we're joined by Victor Dibia, principal research software engineer at Microsoft Research, to explore the key trends and advancements in AI agents and multi-agent systems shaping 2025 and beyond. In this episode, we discuss the unique abilities that set AI agents apart from traditional software systems–reasoning, acting, communicating, and adapting. We also examine the rise of agentic foundation models, the emergence of interface agents like Claude with Computer Use and OpenAI Operator, the shift from simple task chains to complex workflows, and the growing range of enterprise use cases. Victor shares insights into emerging design patterns for autonomous multi-agent systems, including graph and message-driven architectures, the advantages of the “actor model” pattern as implemented in Microsoft's AutoGen, and guidance on how users should approach the ”build vs. buy” decision when working with AI agent frameworks. We also address the challenges of evaluating end-to-end agent performance, the complexities of benchmarking agentic systems, and the implications of our reliance on LLMs as judges. Finally, we look ahead to the future of AI agents in 2025 and beyond, discuss emerging HCI challenges, their potential for impact on the workforce, and how they are poised to reshape fields like software engineering. The complete show notes for this episode can be found at https://twimlai.com/go/718.

In this episode of The Gate 15 Interview, Andy Jabbour speaks with Brandon Dixon. Brandon has worn many hats, from security engineer to entrepreneur. Today, he serves at a Partner AI Strategist for Microsoft, Strategic Advisory and Partner with NinjaJobs, and is a tremendous athlete. Brandon has dedicated his career to information security, focusing on analysis, solution development, and process refinement. As the Security AI Strategist for Microsoft Research, he is advancing fully autonomous security outcomes. Previously, Brandon led the product release of Copilot for Security. He also served as VP of Strategy and Product at RiskIQ, a San Francisco startup acquired by Microsoft, where he helped integrate the business and launched Defender Threat Intelligence and Defender External Attack Surface Management. Brandon has developed several public solutions, including PassiveTotal (acquired by RiskIQ), NinjaJobs (acquired by Starfish Partners), PDF X-RAY, and Blockade.io. His research and development in various security topics have earned him accolades from major security vendors and industry peers. Learn more about Brandon on LinkedIn. In the discussion Brandon and Andy discuss: Brandon's Background. Three “Big Things” in AI Brandon's paying attention to in 2025. Entrepreneurship: “Make sure the idea is something you personally care about.” The value of falling short. Resilience. Roasting Coffee (see link below!) Balance. Fitness: from BMX to ultras. We play Three Questions! Whippets, Big Sky, and long runs. More! Selected links: Beans to Bots: Hacking My Coffee Machine with AI Security Chaos Engineering: Sustaining Resilience in Software and Systems 

Skalierung und verteilte Berechnungen: Sind mehr CPUs wirklich immer schneller?Stell dir vor, du bist Softwareentwickler*in und jeder spricht von Skalierung und verteilten Systemen. Doch wie effizient sind diese eigentlich wirklich? Heißt mehr Rechenpower gleich schnellere Ergebnisse?In dieser Episode werfen wir einen Blick auf ein wissenschaftliches Paper, das behauptet, die wahre Leistung von verteilten Systemen kritisch zu hinterfragen. Wir diskutieren, ab wann es sich lohnt, mehr Ressourcen einzusetzen, und was es mit der mysteriösen Metrik COST (ausgesprochen Configuration that Outperforms a Single Thread) auf sich hat. Hör rein, wenn du wissen willst, ob Single-Threaded Algorithmen in vielen Fällen die bessere Wahl sind.Bonus: Ggf. machen nicht alle Wissenschaftler so wissenschaftliche Arbeit.Unsere aktuellen Werbepartner findest du auf https://engineeringkiosk.dev/partnersDas schnelle Feedback zur Episode:

Michele Elam, the William Robertson Coe Professor of Humanities in the English Department at Stanford University and a Race and Technology Affiliate at the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, joins Behind the Tech to discuss her journey and work. Michele shares her unique path from a humanities background to engaging with technology and AI, influenced by her father's career as an astronautics engineer.  In this episode, Michele and Kevin explore the intersection of humanities and technology, discussing the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and the ethical considerations of AI. They delve into Michele's work at the Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence at Stanford, where she represents arts and diversity perspectives. The conversation also touches on the cultural status of arts versus technology, the impact of storytelling in shaping cultural imagination, and the evolving education of engineering students to include social and ethical questions.   Kevin and Michele reflect on the balance between deep expertise and broad curiosity, the role of arts in technology, and the importance of integrating different perspectives to address complex societal issues. They also discuss the significance of tradition and innovation, drawing insights from Kevin's recent trip to Japan where he observed the coexistence of advanced technology and centuries-old crafts.  Michele Elam  Kevin Scott    Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott    Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.    

The Stanford Business School professor Michal Kosinski has spent his career warning about the corrosive impact of technology, and particularly social media, on democratic institutions and individual freedom. The Polish born academic gained notoriety for his research at Cambridge University on how social media data could predict intimate personal traits. His work became particularly relevant during the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2016, leading to significant legal consequences for Facebook, including a $50 billion fine. In this KEEN ON conversation with Kosinski, recorded in Munich at DLD, he emphasizes that Facebook wasn't inherently malicious but failed to understand the full implications of their intrusive technology. Kosinksi connects social media's rise with the growth of populism, explaining how platforms enabled figures like Trump and even Bernie Sanders to bypass traditional political gatekeepers. Kosinski also discusses his controversial 2017 research showing that AI can predict personal characteristics, including sexual orientation, from facial features. On privacy, Kosinski believes that complete privacy protection may be impossible in the modern digital age. Instead, he advocates for building social and legal systems that make privacy invasions less dangerous. Looking to the future, Kosinski expresses short-term optimism about AI's potential to improve lives but long-term concern about the risks of artificial general intelligence (AGI). He notes that while we may see increased prosperity and advancement in the near future, the exponential acceleration of technological progress means long-term risks could materialize much sooner than expected.Michal Kosinski is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business. His research interests encompass both human and artificial cognition. His current work centers on examining the psychological processes in Large Language Models and leveraging Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Big Data, and computational techniques to model and predict human behavior. He co-authored Handbook of Social Psychology and Modern Psychometrics, two popular textbooks, and has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers in prominent journals such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Computational Science, Psychological Science, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Machine Learning, and Scientific Reports, which have been cited over 22,000 times. He is among the Top 1% of the Highly Cited Researchers according to Clarivate. His research has inspired a cover of The Economist, a 2014 theatre production titled “Privacy,” several TED talks, and a video game. It has been featured in thousands of press articles, books, podcasts, and documentaries. He received a Rising Star award from the Association of Psychological Science (2015) and an Early Achievement Award from the European Association of Personality Psychology (2023). He was behind the first press article warning against Cambridge Analytica. His research exposed the privacy risks they exploited and assessed the effectiveness of their methods. More about his role in uncovering their actions can be found in Steven Levy's insightful book Facebook: The Inside Story and Sander van der Linden's article, “Weapons of Mass Persuasion.” He earned a PhD in psychology from the University of Cambridge and two master's degrees in psychometrics and social psychology. Before his current appointment, he held positions as a post-doctoral scholar in Stanford's Computer Science Department, Deputy Director of the University of Cambridge Psychometrics Centre, and a researcher in Microsoft Research's Machine Learning Group.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of ACM ByteCast, Bruke Kifle hosts ACM Fellow and ACM Distinguished Service Award recipient Jennifer Chayes, Dean of the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society at UC Berkeley. Before joining Berkeley, she co-founded the Theory Group at Microsoft Research Redmond and later founded and led three interdisciplinary labs: Microsoft Research New England, New York City, and Montreal. Her research areas include phase transitions in CS, structural and dynamical properties of networks including graph algorithms, and applications of ML. Jennifer is one of the inventors of the field of graphons, widely used for the ML of large-scale networks. Her recent work includes generative AI and ML theory in areas like cancer, immunotherapy, climate change, and ethical decision making, with more than 150 scientific papers authored and 30 patents she co-invented. Her honors and recognitions include the Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Leadership Award, SIAM's John von Neumann Lecture Award (the highest honor bestowed by SIAM), and election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences. She serves on numerous boards and advisory committees and has served on the ACM A.M. Turing Award Selection Committee. Jennifer shares her early experience as the child of Iranian immigrants, dropping out of high school and learning to embrace risk. She describes her journey from being a pre-med biology major to a PhD in mathematical physics, and how her love of theory and an interest in interdisciplinary work led her to start a Theory Group at Microsoft Research. She also relates how her later interest in economics and game theory led to the founding of Microsoft Research New England, and highlights some of her work there. She and Bruke talk about the challenges she has navigated throughout her career, and how that has influenced her approach to interdisciplinary research. Jennifer also shares her vision and goals for the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society at UC Berkeley. Finally, she opines on the skills needed for future leaders in computing, some of the urgent problems of our time, and offers some advice to young computing professionals.

A Daily Chronicle of AI Innovations on December 23rd 2024☁️Microsoft Research Unveils AIOpsLab

A panel of leading voices in A.I., including experts on capabilities, safety and investing, and policy and governance, tease out some of the big debates over the future of A.I and try to find some common ground. The discussion is moderated by Kevin Roose, a technology columnist at The Times.Participants:Jack Clark, co-founder and head of policy at AnthropicAjeya Cotra, senior program officer for potential risks from advanced A.I. at Open PhilanthropySarah Guo, founder and managing partner at ConvictionDan Hendrycks, director of the Center for A.I. SafetyRana el Kaliouby, co-founder and general partner at Blue Tulip VenturesEugenia Kuyda, founder and chief executive of ReplikaPeter Lee, president of Microsoft Research at MicrosoftMarc Raibert, executive director of the A.I. Institute and founder of Boston DynamicsJosh Woodward, vice president of Google LabsTim Wu, the Julius Silver Professor of Law, Science and Technology at Columbia Law School and former special assistant to the president for technology and competition policyThe conversation was recorded at the annual DealBook Summit and recorded live in front of an audience at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Read more about highlights from the day at https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/12/04/business/dealbook-summit-news Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Refik Anadol, an internationally renowned media artist and director, joins Behind the Tech to discuss his journey from a childhood fascination with computers in Istanbul to becoming a pioneer in the aesthetics of data and machine intelligence. In this episode, Refik shares his early inspirations—including his first encounter with a Commodore computer and the impact of science fiction on his imagination—and discusses how his work explores the intersection of art and technology.  Kevin and Refik delve into the challenges and possibilities that ubiquitous computing has imposed on humanity, and how the perception and experience of time and space are radically changing in the digital age. They explore Refik's innovative projects, such as data-driven machine learning algorithms that create abstract, colorful environments and his immersive audio/visual installations that transform entire buildings. They also discuss the significance of AI in art, the concept of 'data painting,' and the future of digital art in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.  Learn more and support these organizations in North Carolina:  John Britt Pottery  akira satake ceramics | GoFundMe  Mudtools  East Fork    Refik Anadol Studio | Refik Anadol Living Art  Kevin Scott    Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott    Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.    

Online behavioral advertising has raised privacy concerns due to its dependence on extensive tracking of individuals' behaviors and its potential to influence them. Those concerns have been often juxtaposed with the economic value consumers are expected to gain from receiving behaviorally targeted ads. Those purported economic benefits, however, have been more frequently hypothesized than empirically demonstrated. We present the results of two online experiments designed to assess some of the consumer welfare implications of behaviorally targeted advertising using a counterfactual approach. Study 1 finds that products in ads targeted to a sample of online participants were more relevant to them than randomly picked products but were also more likely to be associated with lower quality vendors and higher product prices compared to competing alternatives found among search results. Study 2 replicates the results of Study 1. Additionally, Study 2 finds the higher product relevance of products in targeted ads relative to randomly picked products to be driven by participants having previously searched for the advertised products. The results help evaluate claims about the direct economic benefits consumers may gain from behavioral advertising. About the speaker: Alessandro Acquisti is the Trustees Professor of Information Technology and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College. His research combines economics, behavioral research, and data mining to investigate the role of privacy in a digital society. His studies have promoted the revival of the economics of privacy, advanced the application of behavioral economics to the understanding of consumer privacy valuations and decision-making, and spearheaded the investigation of privacy and disclosures in social media.Alessandro has been the recipient of the PET Award for Outstanding Research in Privacy Enhancing Technologies, the IBM Best Academic Privacy Faculty Award, the IEEE Cybersecurity Award for Innovation, the Heinz College School of Information's Teaching Excellence Award, and numerous Best Paper awards. His studies have been published in journals across multiple disciplines, including Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Journal of Economic Literature, Management Science, Marketing Science, and Journal of Consumer Research. His research has been featured in global media outlets including the Economist, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, CNN, and 60 Minutes. His TED talks on privacy and human behaviour have been viewed over 1.5 million times.Alessandro is the director of the Privacy Economics Experiments (PeeX) Lab, the Chair of CMU Institutional Review Board (IRB), and the former faculty director of the CMU Digital Transformation and Innovation Center. He is an Andrew Carnegie Fellow (inaugural class), and has been a member of the Board of Regents of the National Library of Medicine and a member of the National Academies' Committee on public response to alerts and warnings using social media and associated privacy considerations. He has testified before the U.S. Senate and House committees and has consulted on issues related to privacy policy and consumer behavior with numerous agencies and organizations, including the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the European Commission.He has received a PhD from UC Berkeley and Master degrees from UC Berkeley, the London School of Economics, and Trinity College Dublin. He has held visiting positions at the Universities of Rome, Paris, and Freiburg (visiting professor); Harvard University (visiting scholar); University of Chicago (visiting fellow); Microsoft Research (visiting researcher); and Google (visiting scientist).His research interests include privacy, artificial intelligence, and Nutella. In a previous life, he has been a soundtrack composer and a motorcycle racer (USGPRU).

Bridger (Waleed) Ammar, PhD Dr. Ammar is an educator, engineer, research scientist, author, and a business owner. Before founding HIGG, Dr. Ammar was a senior research scientist at Google, where he helped develop transformer-based models for generating DNA sequences based on PacBio long-reads which significantly reduced variant-calling errors [Nature Biotech'22]. He also helped develop task-oriented dialog systems which are more robust to disfluencies, code-switching and user revisions [arXiv'23]. Prior to joining Google, Dr. Ammar led the Semantic Scholar research team's efforts to develop ML-based methods to facilitate access to the literature [e.g., NAACL 19], build a knowledge graph of the scientific literature [NAACL'18], and use this wealth of information to identify systemic social problems in science [JAMA'19]. He also led the product team for the Semantic Scholar APIs in 2023. Dr. Ammar occasionally teaches courses at UW linguistics and UW Computer Science as a visiting lecturer. In 2016, he earned his Ph.D. degree in artificial intelligence from Carnegie Mellon University. Before pursuing the Ph.D., Waleed was a research engineer at Microsoft Research and a web developer at eSpace Technologies. 1. I was recently invited to speak at GAIN (Global AI Now/Next/Never), and was surprised by the degree to which SCIENCE IS TRANSFORMING KSA (kingdom of Saudi Arabia). Happy to share my key observations on the what, the how, and why it matters to the listeners of the podcast. 2. We recently launched SeeChat x Ideas at https://seechat.ai to help scientists do what they do best, even better: SCIENTIFIC PROBLEM SOLVING. Happy to elaborate on some of the key features we launched and a sneak peek on some of the features in our roadmap. 3. We just launched a first-of-its-kind AI-powered scientific problem solving competition for university students in Egypt at https://lnkd.in/gPCSiPKq. The goal is to HELP EGYPTIAN STUDENTS DO THEIR BEST WORK & SHINE in a highly competitive field, and a brutal job market. Happy to elaborate on the what, the how and why we think that IMPACT CHALLENGE: EGYPT has the potential to make a dent in the Egyptian economy.

This week, we imagine the possibility of Uber buying Expedia Group, based on a report by the Financial Times this week that the ride-hailing company has considered a bid for the online travel giant. It would be notable in part because Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was Expedia Group's CEO from 2005 to 2017 and remains on the company's board.  In the second segment, we enjoy highlights from the "60 Minutes" profile of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, and a separate appearance by University of Washington historian and author Margaret O'Mara on an episode of the podcast "60 Minutes: A Second Look" about the rise of Silicon Valley in the early 1980s.   And finally, we talk about our new Geekwire project, Microsoft @ 50, and get a window into what's next in AI from Peter Lee, the Microsoft Research president. He shares the top three technical challenges and opportunities on his mind when it comes to the future of artificial intelligence. This is bonus content from an interview for the first story in the series, published this week, tracing the evolution of AI inside Microsoft.  With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode is sponsored by RapidSOS. Close the safety gap and transform your emergency response with RapidSOS. Visit https://rapidsos.com/eyeonai/ today to learn how AI-powered safety can protect your people and boost your bottom line.     In this episode of the Eye on AI podcast, we dive deep into the world of AI agents with Ece Kamar, VP of Research and Managing Director of AI Frontiers Lab at Microsoft.   Ece shares her unique insights on the future of AI, discussing how AI agents are reshaping the way we interact with technology and perform tasks.   Throughout the episode, Ece explains the groundbreaking potential of AI agents, describing how they act as autonomous entities that can perceive, learn, and carry out complex tasks in real time. She discusses the revolutionary shift from traditional AI models to agentic workflows, highlighting how multi-agent systems like Microsoft's AutoGen are creating scalable solutions for industries and everyday life. Ece also shares her thoughts on building responsible AI, touching on the ethical challenges and safety concerns that come with the rise of autonomous agents.   We explore how multi-agent systems can scale to millions of agents, and how they are transforming enterprises by automating complex workflows, personalizing customer experiences, and pushing the boundaries of AI development. Ece's perspective on the future of AI in scientific discovery, as well as her work in responsible AI, offers a thought-provoking glimpse into what lies ahead.   Don't forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell to stay updated on the latest in AI, automation, and ethical tech!     Stay Updated: Craig Smith Twitter: https://twitter.com/craigss Eye on A.I. Twitter: https://twitter.com/EyeOn_AI     (00:00) Preview and Introduction (03:11) What Are AI Agents? (04:43) Building Responsible AI at Microsoft (10:55) The Rise of Agentic Workflows (12:30) Multi-Agent Systems and AutoGen (18:04) Scaling Multi-Agent Systems (20:22) The Creation and Evolution of AutoGen (23:07) Real-World Applications of AutoGen (25:52) Large-Scale Simulations with AI Agents (27:36) The Role of AI Agents in Scientific Discovery (31:20) AI Agents and Complex Reasoning (36:49) Challenges in Defining Agent Boundaries (39:12) The Risk of Agents Interacting with Each Other (43:59) Building Trustworthy and Safe AI Agents (48:44) Learning from Human Factors in Automation (50:50) Why Speed and Coordination Matter in AI Development (55:08) The Future of AI Agents in Enterprises (57:47) Low-Code/No-Code Development for AI Agents

Adding code to LLM training data is a known method of improving a model's reasoning skills. But wouldn't math, the basis of all reasoning, be even better? Up until recently, there just wasn't enough usable data that describes mathematics to make this feasible. A few years ago, Vlad Tenev (also founder of Robinhood) and Tudor Achim noticed the rise of the community around an esoteric programming language called Lean that was gaining traction among mathematicians. The combination of that and the past decade's rise of autoregressive models capable of fast, flexible learning made them think the time was now and they founded Harmonic. Their mission is both lofty—mathematical superintelligence—and imminently practical, verifying all safety-critical software. Hosted by: Sonya Huang and Pat Grady, Sequoia Capital  Mentioned in this episode: IMO and the Millennium Prize: Two significant global competitions Harmonic hopes to win (soon) Riemann hypothesis: One of the most difficult unsolved math conjectures (and a Millenium Prize problem) most recently in the sights of MIT mathematician Larry Guth Terry Tao: perhaps the greatest living mathematician and Vlad's professor at UCLA Lean: an open source functional language for code verification launched by Leonardo de Moura when at Microsoft Research in 2013 that powers the Lean Theorem Prover mathlib: the largest math textbook in the world, all written in Lean Metaculus: online prediction platform that tracks and scores thousands of forecasters Minecraft Beaten in 20 Seconds: The video Vlad references as an analogy to AI math Navier-Stokes equations: another important Millenium Prize math problem. Vlad considers this more tractable that Riemann John von Neumann: Hungarian mathematician and polymath that made foundational contributions to computing, the Manhattan Project and game theory Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz: co-inventor of calculus and (remarkably) creator of the “universal characteristic,” a system for reasoning through a language of symbols and calculations—anticipating Lean and Harmonic by 350 years! 00:00 - Introduction 01:42 - Math is reasoning 06:16 - Studying with the world's greatest living mathematician 10:18 - What does the math community think of AI math? 15:11 - Recursive self-improvement 18:31 - What is Lean? 21:05 - Why now? 22:46 - Synthetic data is the fuel for the model 27:29 - How fast will your model get better? 29:45 - Exploring the frontiers of human knowledge 34:11 - Lightning round

Ben Laude, a concert pianist and music educator, joins Behind the Tech to discuss his journey from a suburban childhood in Austin, Texas to becoming a world-renowned classical pianist and YouTube creator. Ben shares his early inspirations—including his father's dabbling in piano and his own private obsession with classical music that began in high school—and discusses the importance of having a good teacher and the role of the early Internet in fueling his passion for piano.  In this episode, Kevin and Ben explore the impact of AI on art and artists, the significance of classical piano in Ben's life and his efforts to popularize classical piano through educational content. They discuss the challenges and rewards of pursuing a career in music, the magic of bringing encoded scores (musical notations that serve as instructions for how to perform the music) to life, and the importance of community and feedback in achieving success.  Ben Laude | Utah State University  Kevin Scott    Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott    Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.    

David Rothschild, an economist at Microsoft Research, is one of the people behind the Media Bias Detector Project, which “Tracks and classifies the top stories published by a collection of prominent publishers spanning the political spectrum in close to real time.”  Visit the It's All Journalism website to find out how to subscribe to our podcast and weekly email newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Rothschild, an economist at Microsoft Research, is one of the people behind the Media Bias Detector Project, which “Tracks and classifies the top stories published by a collection of prominent publishers spanning the political spectrum in close to real time.” Visit the It's All Journalism website to find out how to subscribe to our podcast and weekly email newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 133I spoke with Peter Lee about:* His early work on compiler generation, metacircularity, and type theory* Paradoxical problems* GPT-4s impact, Microsoft's “Sparks of AGI” paper, and responses and criticismEnjoy—and let me know what you think!Peter is President of Microsoft Research. He leads Microsoft Research and incubates new research-powered products and lines of business in areas such as artificial intelligence, computing foundations, health, and life sciences. Before joining Microsoft in 2010, he was at DARPA, where he established a new technology office that created operational capabilities in machine learning, data science, and computational social science. Prior to that, he was a professor and the head of the computer science department at Carnegie Mellon University. Peter is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and serves on the boards of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, the Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, and the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine. He served on President Obama's Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. He has testified before both the US House Science and Technology Committee and the US Senate Commerce Committee. With Carey Goldberg and Dr. Isaac Kohane, he is the coauthor of the best-selling book, “The AI Revolution in Medicine: GPT-4 and Beyond.” In 2024, Peter Lee was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in health and life sciences.Find me on Twitter for updates on new episodes, and reach me at editor@thegradient.pub for feedback, ideas, guest suggestions. I spend a lot of time on this podcast—if you like my work, you can support me on Patreon :) You can also support upkeep for the full Gradient team/project through a paid subscription on Substack!Subscribe to The Gradient Podcast:  Apple Podcasts  | Spotify | Pocket Casts | RSSFollow The Gradient on TwitterOutline:* (00:00) Intro* (00:50) Basic vs. applied research* (05:20) Theory and practice in computing* (10:28) Traditional denotational semantics and semantics engineering in modern-day systems* (16:47) Beauty and practicality* (20:40) Metacircularity in the polymorphic lambda calculus: research directions* (24:31) Understanding the nature of difficulties with metacircularity* (26:30) Difficulties with reflection, classic paradoxes* (31:02) Sparks of AGI* (31:41) Reproducibility* (38:04) Confirming and disconfirming theories, foundational work* (42:00) Back and forth between commitments and experimentation* (51:01) Dealing with responsibility* (56:30) Peter's picture of AGI* (1:01:38) OutroLinks:* Peter's Twitter, LinkedIn, and Microsoft Research pages* Papers and references* The automatic generation of realistic compilers from high-level semantic descriptions* Metacircularity in the polymorphic lambda calculus* A Fresh Look at Combinator Graph Reduction* Sparks of AGI* Re-envisioning DARPA* Fundamental Research in Engineering Get full access to The Gradient at thegradientpub.substack.com/subscribe

Sal Khan, founder and CEO of Khan Academy, joins Behind the Tech to discuss his journey from a curious child fascinated by science and technology to a global leader in education innovation. Sal shares his early inspirations that led him to pursue a career in engineering and a degree at MIT, and outlines his lifelong passion for education rooted in the belief that all students have the potential to excel in subjects like math and science with the right tools and encouragement.  In this episode, Kevin and Sal explore Sal's vision for Khan Academy, his insights on the intersection of technology and education, and the launch of Khanmigo, Khan Academy's AI-powered personal tutor. They discuss the challenges of teaching to diverse learning styles and the importance of building confidence and curiosity in students.  Sal Khan | Khan Academy | Khanmigo  Kevin Scott    Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott    Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.    

Artificial Intelligence is something that's all around us in our daily lives. And even if we do use it, whether that's to search for a recipe online, make a funny photo, or ask it to help with our homework, every task that AI does uses power. That power is electricity. Around the world there are thousands of data centres hosting computers that process all our requests. And as those tasks get more sophisticated, and AI becomes Super Intelligent, they will need even more electricity.But as Super AI develops, could it become so intelligent that it is able to solve the very problems it creates?Contributors: Dr Mark Van Rijmenam, a strategic futurist Kate Crawford, research professor at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and senior principal researcher at Microsoft Research in New York Sam Young, AI Manager at Energy Systems Catapult Rose Mutiso, research director of the Energy for Growth HubPresented by David Baker Produced by Louise Clarke Researched by Katie Morgan Edited by Tara McDermott Technically Produced by Craig Boardman

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 Researcher Behnaz Arzani. Arzani has always been attracted to hard problems, and there's no shortage of them in her field of choice—network management—where her contributions to heuristic analysis and incident diagnostics are helping the networks people use today run more smoothly. But the criteria she uses to determine whether a challenge deserves her time has evolved. These days, a problem must appeal across several dimensions: Does it answer a hard technical question? Would the solution be useful to people? And … would she enjoy solving it?Learn more:Solving Max-Min Fair Resource Allocations Quickly on Large Graphs | Publication, February 2024Finding Adversarial Inputs for Heuristics using Multi-level Optimization | Publication, February 2024MetaOpt: Examining, explaining, and improving heuristic performance | Microsoft Research blog, January 2024A Holistic View of AI-driven Network Incident Management | Publication, October 2023Behnaz Arzani: Painting, storytelling, and other hobbies | Microsoft Research bio page

Ethan Mollick is an associate professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches innovation and entrepreneurship. His research focuses on the impact of AI on work and education, and he has published numerous papers and a New York Times-bestselling book on AI, "Co-Intelligence." Ethan is also behind the popular Substack ”One Useful Thing,” which explores the implications of AI for work, education, and life.  In this episode, Kevin and Ethan discuss Ethan's background as a long-time technology enthusiast, his academic journey, and his insights on the current AI revolution. Ethan shares his experiences from running a bulletin board in the '80s to co-founding a startup company before entering academia, and the two discuss topics from the transformative potential of AI and its accessibility to a broader audience to the importance of AI as a co-intelligence tool that can enhance human capabilities.  Ethan Mollick | Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania | Co-Intelligence Kevin Scott   Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott   Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.    

While the vibrance, innovation, and cacophony of online life can feel completely unlike anything humanity has ever created before, its newness isn't wholly unprecedented. Humans reckoned with many similar challenges to life as they knew it while navigating a different kind of social web: the city.   In this episode, Danah Boyd, a partner researcher at Microsoft Research and Distinguished Visiting Professor at Georgetown University, explains how the sociological work conducted during a time of rapid urbanization in the United States reveals a lot about human behavior and what we need to feel safe, secure, and inspired. Music by Forever Sunset (“Spring Dance”), baegel (“Cyber Wham”), Etienne Roussel (“Twilight”), Dip Diet (“Sidelined”), Ben Elson (“Darkwave”), and Rob Smierciak (“Whistle Jazz”). Write to us at howtopodcast@theatlantic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike Volpi is a longtime venture capitalist who joined Index Ventures in 2009 to establish the firm's San Francisco office and North American operations. Prior, he was Chief Strategy Officer at Cisco, overseeing a run of acquisitions still studied today as a model for technology merger strategy. Mike invests primarily in artificial intelligence, infrastructure, and open-source companies, and currently serves on the boards of multiple companies including Aurora, ClickHouse, Cockroach Labs, Cohere, Confluent, Covariant.ai, Kong, Scale, Sonos, and Wealthfront.     In this episode, Kevin and Mike discuss Mike's early childhood, how he got interested in the study of engineering, and his career experiences—including what led to Mike's long career at Cisco and his current Partner position at Index—including his board experiences with multiple companies.     Mike Volpi | Index Ventures  Kevin Scott    Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott    Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts.    

Our ability to focus is not lost, it's just changing. Here's what we can adapt.Here's a horrifying fact: the average attention span has now declined to just 47 seconds on any particular screen. 47 seconds! How did this happen? How can we get anything done this way?Today we're going to meet the scientist who's done this research, find out what's driving this, and what we can do about it. And the good news is we really can do things about this.We're experiencing a fundamental shift in how we think, work, and focus. It shows up in our blizzard of notifications, zoom fatigue, task switching, and burn out. Dr. Gloria Mark is the Chancellor's Professor of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine. She has been a visiting senior researcher at Microsoft Research since 2012. She's written a book called Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and ProductivityIn this episode we talked about:Four myths about attention and technologyThe problem with frequent task-switchingThe surprising (to me) value of rote or mindless activitiesHow to recognize when we are most distracted How to design your day based on your attentional resourcesHow practicing forethought can help boost our attention and focus And Her thoughts on digital detoxes This episode is part of the latest installment of an occasional series we do, called Sanely Ambitious. If you missed last week's episodes, go check them out. We talked about the science of optimal performance, and also the science of failure, meaning how to fail well. Coming up on Wednesday we're gonna talk about what the research says about when to quit, not just your job, but any endeavor. We will put links in the show notes.Related Episodes:The Science of Optimal Performance—at Work and Beyond | Daniel GolemanThe Science of Failing Well | Amy EdmondsonSign up for Dan's weekly newsletter hereFollow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTokTen Percent Happier online bookstoreSubscribe to our YouTube ChannelOur favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular EpisodesFull Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/gloria-markSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.