Microsoft announces big open data push for artificial intelligence

Aiming to close what it calls a "data divide," Microsoft on Tuesday announced a plan to make more data widely available so the benefits of artificial intelligence aren't confined to a few large companies. Why it matters: Machine learning has the potential to make governments and countries far more efficient but often requires an enormous amount of data, in addition to the necessary computing power. What they're saying: "Fully half of all of the data created, every day, on the internet, is flowing to only 100 companies," Microsoft President Brad Smith said in an interview. Smith said that those same companies, left unchecked, would be the beneficiaries of AI, while most others would likely fall behind: "Fundamentally, it's going to accrue to a handful of companies on the West Coast of the United States and the East Coast of China." Yes, but: While Microsoft is pledging to share data around issues like health and the environment, Microsoft and other companies are unlikely to share their most proprietary data sets, which will likely generate most of the profits in the AI era.