Microsoft to make artificial intelligence 'available to all'

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer going to remain the secret sauce of giant tech companies. Microsoft said that it was betting big on'democratising' artificial intelligence and making it'available to all' to help improve lives and transform businesses. Detecting deadly diseases, reducing accident risks, predicting consumer behaviour and helping farmers increase crop yields were some of the AI-based innovations that the world's largest software maker showcased along with its partners at an event here. Is it something that would be really harnessed by some of the biggest companies in the world? Who is AI for?," said Anant Maheshwari, president, Microsoft India, in his keynote address at the company's'AI for All' conference here. "And one of the core perspectives we have had as a company is to democratise AI and really bring it for everyone," he said. The Redmond, Washington-based firm said it was helping 650 India-based partners use the Microsoft cognitive services, Internet of Things (IoT), AI and machine learning platforms to build solutions for India. Over the last year, Microsoft and its partners have deployed AI solutions in areas such as healthcare, education, agriculture, retail, e-commerce, manufacturing and financial services. For instance, homegrown online retail giant Flipkart is leveraging AI and analytics capabilities in Microsoft's cloud computing platform Azure. It is able to deliver increasingly relevant and personalized experiences to its customers. "We have to be proactive and these millions of users coming to our platform is giving us information to predict.