AI, machine learning and the reasoning machine with Dr. Geoff Gordon - Microsoft Research

Teaching computers to read, think and communicate like humans is a daunting task, but it's one that Dr. Geoff Gordon embraces with enthusiasm and optimism. Moving from an academic role at Carnegie Mellon University, to a new role as Research Director of the Microsoft Research Lab in Montreal, Dr. Gordon embodies the current trend toward partnership between academia and industry as we enter what many believe will be a new era of progress in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Today, Dr. Gordon gives us a brief history of AI, including his assessment of why we might see a break in the weather-pattern of AI winters, talks about how collaboration is essential to innovation in machine learning, shares his vision of the mindset it takes to tackle the biggest questions in AI, and reveals his life-long quest to make computers less… well, less computer-like. Geoff Gordon: You cannot know ahead of time exactly what's going to come out, because if you knew, it wouldn't be research. You don't expect your payoffs to be measured in months or even necessarily a couple of years. But it could be that the things you're doing now pay off ten years later. And so, Microsoft has decided that MSR is in it for the long-term, and that changes the type of research that you can do, right? You can afford to make big bets. Host: You're listening to the Microsoft Research Podcast, a show that brings you closer to the cutting-edge of technology research and the scientists behind it. Teaching computers to read, think and communicate like humans is a daunting task, but it's one that Dr. Geoff Gordon embraces with enthusiasm and optimism. Moving from an academic role at Carnegie Mellon University to a new role as research director of the Microsoft Research Lab in Montreal, Dr. Gordon embodies the current trend toward the partnership between academia and industry, as we enter what many believe will be a new era of progress in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Today, Dr. Gordon gives us a brief history of AI, including his assessment of why we might see a break in the weather pattern of AI winters, talks about how collaboration is essential to innovation and machine learning, shares his vision of the mindset it takes to tackle the biggest questions in AI, and reveals his life-long quest to make computers less… well, less computer-like. Host: Geoff Gordon, thanks for coming all the way from Montreal to join us in the studio today.