Microsoft talks up 'conversations as a platform' at Build 2016

At Build 2016s opening keynote, Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, talked up "conversations as a platform," taking human language and applying it to all of the company's computing.

Nadella claims it can have an impact as profound as previous big shifts, like the Graphical User Interface, the web and touch.

"Infusing intelligence into computers, teach computers to learn human language and have conversational understanding … Context about your preferences, your personal knowledge"

There's little interaction that comes as naturally as just speaking, whatever it is that you're speaking to. The power will be in the response. Microsoft is claiming three core principles:

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1: Augment human abilities and experiences 2: Trustworthy 3: Inclusive and respectful

The now infamous Tay Twitter AI bot got a mention, too, and how it was launched but didn't reach the mark that Microsoft was aiming for. That's probably an understatement, but the overall idea is clear having heard Nadella speak. He also noted that social bots in Asia seem to be fairing a little better, and that incubation of such intelligence is important.

So Tay probably isn't the last we've seen from Microsoft. We just hope it goes better next time.

For more from Build 2016 be sure to follow our liveblog.

Richard Devine is the Managing Editor at Windows Central, where he combines a deep love for the open-source community with expert-level technical coverage. Whether he’s hunting for the next big project on GitHub, fine-tuning a WSL workflow, or breaking down the latest meta in Call of Duty, Forza, and The Division 2, Richard focuses on making complex tech accessible to every kind of user. If it’s happening in the world of Windows or PC gaming, he’s probably already knee-deep in the code (or the lobbies). Follow him on X and Mastodon.