>> Welcome to our very first episode of Microsoft Unboxed.
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>> I'm one of your hosts Sonia Dara,
and I'm joined by my colleague Colleen O'Brien.
>> Hello world.
>> This is our brand new show on the Microsoft YouTube channel.
Every week, Colleen and I will come together,
and we'll talk about the latest and
greatest tech stories coming out of Microsoft.
We'll talk about the awesome people behind those great stories.
I'll have a secret story to share to Colleen,
and she'll have a secret story to tell me,
but it'll all be around one theme each episode.
Today's episode's theme is, are you ready.
Drum roll. AI For Good.
So, before we get into our topic of the day for AI For Good,
we wanted to explain a little bit about
why we're doing the show and
why Colleen and I were interested to be part of this awesome show.
So, Colleen, why don't you explain a little bit to our audience?
>> Sure. So, Sonia and I both
are working at Microsoft, both Microsoft employees.
One of the reasons why I was so excited about this is,
it's another creative outlet where we
can collaborate even though we're not working on the same team.
>> Even further back, Colleen and I
actually went to college together.
>> That's right. I stalked you.
I was working for a clothing brand,
and one of my jobs was to
get more people to care about this clothing brand.
Sonia was one of those fashionable people on campus.
So, I worked really.
>> Okay. Not "fashionable",
I just happened to model. So, that's it.
>> I did my job though. So, you was on the front page of
the Harvard Crimson wearing that dress.
So, I did a great job.
>> Yes. So, we go ways back,
but both separately found our paths
to Microsoft. She graduated before me.
>> She's a little bit older.
>> Sorry. The reason why I also
really was excited to get involved in this show in particular is,
it's a chance to be awkward,
and I just naturally do that all the time.
So, to have an excuse to do it on air and like it being okay.
>> And at work.
>> I'm just trying to give the people what they want.
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>> Yes.
>> In their faces and your computer screen,
which is hopefully a Surface.
>> Having the chance to be your authentic self on camera,
I think is really powerful.
We talk a lot about diversity and inclusion.
It's near and dear to our hearts.
As we've been researching for the show,
I've also learned a lot about what's going on at the company.
There's just a fire-hose of news.
So, you're not always your heads down doing your work,
but I've learned so much about what we're doing.
>> How about we get started with our topic of the day.
>> So, AI For Good is
an initiative that Microsoft kicked off that provides
tech resources and expertise to empower those working to solve
humanitarian issues and create
a more sustainable and accessible world.
>> That wasn't awful. Landed it.
>> AI For Good is this umbrella initiative and it
actually encompasses three unique initiatives.
>> Cool.
>> Number one, AI for Accessibility,
which spoiler alert, I'm going to talk about today.
Number two, AI for Humanitarian Action.
>> Which I'm going to talk about today, spoiler alert.
>> Then number three,
AI for Earth, which we'll talk about in a future episode.
There's so much good content there.
We didn't want to squish it all into one episode.
We've got a lot of good stuff for you.
>> So, that means you're locked in to watch this
forever until you get to that, and for forever.
>> Forever.
>> I'm going to talk about AI for Accessibility,
which Satya announced at Build in 2018.
I was there in the audience.
I looked at one of the slides that
he used to kick off this initiative,
and it just said opportunity and responsibility.
We're constantly looking at industries,
or business opportunities, or customer issues,
and there's huge opportunity there.
But as a company with a lot of resources,
a lot of really smart people,
we also have this responsibility to bring everyone along.
AI for Accessibility is
a grant program of
$25 million to be spent over the course of five years,
so that they can bring their passion and their ingenuity to
the over one billion people who have a disability in the world.
I had no idea it was that many people.
>> One billion, yes, wow. Yes.
>> It's people who are coming together from
across the company behind
this unique passion that they have to make
the world more experience, more accessible.
One of the apps that has been born out of
the hackathon is the Seeing AI app.
The Seeing AI app allows you to hold up your phone,
and your phone will narrate the world to you.
Whether you're looking at a receipt and it
can tell you how much you're being charged,
or you hold it up to an individual and it can tell you that you're
looking at a 20-something-year-old Indian woman
who is smiling at you.
>> I should be smiling.
>> Yes. A couple of other really great technology initiatives
that have come out of this are
around learning tools like SwiftKey,
which is helping individuals of different learning abilities
get up to speed on their education, on reading.
The first grant recipient is Zyrobotics.
Zyrobotics is developing unique solutions
for accessible STEM education,
that's Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Mathematics, like ReadAble Storiez.
That's Read, capital A,
ReadAble Storiez. Get it?
>> I see.
>> They're using adaptive technology
to meet the diverse needs of students.
The computer is able to hear a student
talking and give the feedback
that a speech language pathologist would give.
>> Wow!
>> Yes, it's pretty cool.
>> My story is about one of
the other pillars that fell under AI For Good.
AI for Humanitarian Action.
So, the AI for Humanitarian Action initiative was
an ascetic night on
our big IT Pro conference in September of last year.
So, basically, it's around four main pillars:
disaster response and supporting displaced people and refugees,
human rights, and then needs of children.
For a disaster response, imagine damage mapping.
They're actually able to have
an aerial view and understand the ins and
out roads that are easiest for rescue vehicles to come in,
where is the most extensive damage,
where can they put more of their efforts
first for saving people maybe if there's a flood,
or a hurricane, or tornado.
For the second pillar around supporting displaced people,
they are providing basically technology,
for example, the Syrian refugees,
that might not have access
to be able to communicate back with their families.
So, allowing them to communicate
better and also to get more access to
learning tools to continue their further education.
>> Yes, because they don't have access to their schools.
>> Exactly. Human rights.
So, helping monitor, detect,
and prevent human rights violations.
>> What?
>> Being able to use AI to support that.
So, the fourth area that AI for
Humanitarian Action helps with is the needs for children.
Operation Smile.
I don't know if you've heard about it.
>> I've heard about it.
>> You've heard about it. They are providing basically
surgeries for children who are born with cleft palates.
Without the surgery, nine out of 10 children could die.
So, using facial modeling algorithms and then Microsoft Pics,
we're actually able to improve
surgical outcomes of all these surgeries.
>> Is your heartwarming?
>> I know, it's just a really great use-case scenario
over AI or facial modeling algorithms,
all coming together to really support some of
these initiatives that just really need to have some more focus.
>> Focus.
>> Exactly.
>> Yes, of course. So, from
these technologies that are empowering people with
disabilities to these really fantastic partnerships
with humanitarian action,
it is incredible and totally empowering to see how AI
For Good is directing our focus to these parts of our world,
parts of our humanity that really need a little bit more focus.
>> Yes. Speaking of focusing on humanitarian,
which is like the best segue I could think of,
we wanted to introduce the third character in our show,
which some folks might not have noticed,
which is weird because it's been sitting here of all time.
>> You're like really anthropomorphizing this box right now.
>> Nice SAT word.
That was such a bad high five.
This is part of last segment of
our show which is called Outside of the Box.
So, in this box are a bunch of
random questions that Colleen and
I will have 30 seconds to answer.
We haven't seen any of these questions.
>> Correct.
>> So, can we please get 30 seconds on the clock in the back.
>> Dialing it in.
>> If you had lots of money,
what unnecessary thing would you splurge on?
>> A gravity blanket.
>> Really? That's what you would?
Not like a private plane or a concert ticket.
>> I don't know.
>> A gravity blanket.
>> Everyone just seem so cozy.
They're loving it, and it's changing their lives.
>> Oh my God. The first thing that came
to my mind was I'd buy a private island,
but actually have a private island. That's actually mine.
>> Okay. Well, I want a gravity blanket.
Don't get my yuck my yum.
>> That's the different between us.
>> Okay.
>> You ready?
>> I am ready.
>> If you could switch places with anyone in
your family for a day, who would it be?
>> Oh, that has to be someone famous.
Oh, anyone in my family?
I probably say my dad,
such a hard working man.
He emigrated from India in '82,
worked his butt off.
He's super smart.
He studied in the Grand Canyon,
the acoustics of helicopters, and stuff like that.
>> What?
>> Yes, the acoustic. He's just super brilliant guy.
I would also just want to know what it's like to be a dude.
So, it covers everything.
>> I know.
>> But he's so smart and brilliant.
I would love to walk in his shoes for a day or week.
>> That's really sweet.
>> Yes.
>> This is a heartwarming show.
>> Yes. Our first episode and
everyone's going to be like wow, this is happening.
>> Is everyone's heart warm?
>>Yes. So, that about does it
for our last segment Outside the Box,
and that about does it for our first episode.
We hope you really enjoyed it.
We would love for you to submit questions for our Outside the Box.
You can submit it to the address below or comment on the video.
>> Even further down.
>> We'll check it out, and we'll add it to the box.
>> If you want to stay posted on all of the
latest and greatest episodes of Microsoft.
Unboxed, we're coming out every Thursday with the new episode.
So, be sure to subscribe right over there,
and that about wraps it up for
today for episode one. Thanks for tuning in.
>> Thanks guys.
[MUSIC]
>> Hi everyone.
If you can't get enough of us,
I would highly recommend subscribing to our podcast,
Women in Business and Technology, available right here.
>> You can follow us on Twitter and
Instagram at our social handles right here.
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