Microsoft Research Podcast

Researcher Brendan Lucier and professor Mert Demirer are applying their micro- and macroeconomic expertise, respectively, to forecasting the economic impact of AI. They share how they’re using a task-level breakdown of occupations to help predict the future.Learn more:AI, Cognition, and the Economy (AICE) | Initiative pageIdeas: Designing AI for people with Abigail Sellen | Microsoft Research Podcast, May 2024

Emre Kiciman shares how some keen observations and a desire to have front-end impact led him to make the jump from systems and networking to computational social science and now causal analysis and large-scale AI—and how systems thinking still impacts his work.Learn more:AI Controller Interface: Generative AI with a lightweight, LLM-integrated VM (blog)AICI: Prompts as (Wasm) Programs (GitHub)

A lack of appropriate data, decreased model performance, and other obstacles have made it difficult to expand the input language models can receive. Li Lyna Zhang introduces LongRoPE, a method capable of extending content windows to more than 2 million tokens.Read the paperGet the code

Senior Researcher Arindam Mitra introduces AgentInstruct. Using raw data sources, the automated multi-agent framework can create diverse, high-quality synthetic data at scale for the post-training of small and large language models.Read the paper

Jake Smith, a Senior researcher at Microsoft focusing on sustainable electronics, and Aniruddh Vashisth, an Assistant professor of mechanical engineering, delve into the environmental impact of printed circuit boards. They discuss innovative vitrimer-based designs that promise recyclability and mechanical efficiency. The conversation highlights the integration of AI to enhance material properties, the challenges of e-waste, and the importance of collaboration in developing sustainable solutions for the tech industry.

Behnaz Arzani loves hard problems and the freedom to explore. That makes research a great fit! She discusses her work in network management, including the potential role of LLMs in the field; the challenges that excite her; and how storytelling changed her life.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

Principal PM Manager Weishung Liu shares how a career delivering products and customer experiences aligns with her love of people and storytelling and how—despite efforts to defy the expectations that come with growing up in Silicon Valley—she landed in tech.Learn more:Weishung Liu at Microsoft ResearchWatch For | Project pageDeveloper Tech Minutes: Watch For | Video, 2021

Join Abigail Sellen, a Distinguished Scientist and Lab Director at Microsoft Research Cambridge, as she dives into the intricacies of human-centric AI design. She emphasizes the importance of understanding AI's impact on cognition and the economy through the AICE initiative. Abigail discusses the co-pilot metaphor, portraying AI as a supportive partner to enhance human agency. They dig into the delicate balance between digital and physical workspaces, advocating for thoughtful integration of technology while addressing its role in shaping societal norms.

Andrey Kolobov, Principal Research Manager at Microsoft, discusses real-time wind prediction for drones using AI, enhancing flight efficiency and enabling quick deliveries. The research focuses on training models with limited data sources and synthetically generated data to accurately predict wind fields, ensuring drone safety in complex terrains and urban settings.

Jacki O'Neill saw an opportunity to expand Microsoft research efforts to Africa. She now leads Microsoft Research Africa, Nairobi (formerly MARI). O'Neill talks about the choices that got her there, the lab’s impact, and how living abroad is good for innovation. Learn more:Jacki O'Neill at Microsoft ResearchMicrosoft Research Africa (formerly MARI)