AI for the Developing World with Dr. Ranveer Chandra - Microsoft Research

When we think about artificial intelligence and the "world of the future," our vision is usually more Jetsons than Green Acres. But for Dr. Ranveer Chandra, a Principal Researcher in the Systems and Networking group at Microsoft Research, rural farms are the perfect place to realize the benefits of AI through what he calls precision agriculture, or data-driven farming. Today, in a wide-ranging interview, Dr. Chandra talks about how his research may eventually make your wi-fi signal stronger and your battery life longer, but also shares the story of how spending childhood summers with his grandparents in rural India inspired a line of research that could change the face of farming and help meet the food and nutrition needs of a growing global population. Ranveer Chandra: One of the latest projects I'm doing is Farm Beats. And for that, to actually see how well your research works, you need to be out there in a farm. I'm like, "What am I doing going out there in the farm in the middle of nowhere in this rain?" But on the other hand, just reminding yourself that if this research works, this is going to benefit so many farmers. It gives you that level of energy to keep going, to keep thinking about doing bigger things and not stopping where you are. A show that brings you closer to the cutting edge of technology research and the scientists behind it. When we think about artificial intelligence and the world of the future, our vision is usually more Jetsons than Green Acres. But for Dr. Ranveer Chandra, a Principal Researcher in the Systems and Networking group at Microsoft Research, rural farms are the perfect place to realize the benefits of AI through what he calls precision agriculture or data-driven farming. Today, in a wide-ranging interview, Dr. Chandra talks about how his research may eventually make your Wi-Fi signal stronger and your battery life longer. But also shares the story of how spending childhood summers with his grandparents in rural India inspired a line of research that could change the face of farming, and help meet the food and nutrition needs of a growing global population. Host: Ranveer Chandra, welcome to the podcast, it's great to see you today. Ranveer Chandra: Yeah, thank you. I'm excited to be here. And it says on the website that you develop technologies that "expand the state of the art in computing." Ranveer Chandra: I come from a networking background.