Microsoft CTO: Understanding AI is part of being an informed citizen in the 21st century

Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott believes understanding AI in the future will help people become better citizens. "I think to be a well-informed citizen in the 21st century, you need to know a little bit about this stuff [AI] because you want to be able to participate in the debates. You don't want to be someone to whom AI is sort of this thing that happens to you. You want to be an active agent in the whole ecosystem," he said. In an interview with VentureBeat in San Francisco this week, Scott shared his thoughts on the future of AI, including facial recognition software and manufacturing automation.