Microsoft Build Developer Expo Focuses on Artificial Intelligence Sci-Tech Today

During his keynote address, CEO Satya Nadella (pictured above) revealed that the Windows 10 operating system, launched nearly two years ago, is now installed on 500 million devices around the world. Microsoft's Office 365 suite has also reached a milestone: more than 100 million monthly commercial active users. Other announcements made yesterday included the launch of a public preview of the Cortana Skills Kit, which lets developers create bots using Microsoft's intelligent digital assistant, and the debut of Azure IoT Edge, which helps developers bring machine learning and other advanced capabilities to other devices on the Internet of Things. Microsoft's vision of artificial intelligence is to make those capabilities "available to everyone, from developers and data scientists to tech enthusiasts and students," Harry Shum, executive vice president of Microsoft's AI and research group, said yesterday in a blog post. Shum said Microsoft now offers 29 different cognitive services to developers, making it possible for them to incorporate AI capabilities in new apps "with just a few lines of code."