Microsoft and Meta are extending their ongoing AI partnership, with Meta selecting Azure as "a strategic cloud provider" to accelerate its own AI research and development. Microsoft officials shared more details about the latest on the Microsoft-Meta partnership on Day 2 of the Microsoft Build 2022 developers conference. Microsoft and Meta -- back when it was still known as Facebook -- announced the ONNX (Open Neural Network Exchange) format in 2017 in the name of enabling developers to move deep-learning models between different AI frameworks. Microsoft open sourced the ONNX Runtime, which is the inference engine for models in the ONNX format, in 2018. Today, Meta officials said they'll be using Azure to accelerate research and development across the Meta AI group.

Karl Benz and Henry Ford revolutionized transportation with the initial development and mass production of the automobile. Now, more than a century later, the automotive industry is poised to transform transportation again, with a push to develop connected, personalized and autonomous driving experiences, electric vehicles and new mobility business models from ride-sharing to ride-hailing and multimodal, smart transportation concepts. This industry is expected to see significant growth, becoming a $6.6T industry by 2030, with disruptive business models accounting for 25 percent of all revenues, according to consulting firm, McKinsey & Company. From shared vehicle services to fully electric transportation, manufacturers are developing new products and services to enable large fleets offering mobility-as-a-service, which will increasingly replace individual car ownership. This involves modernizing the in-vehicle experience with productivity, entertainment, and personal assistants that are safe and secure, following users across different transport modes, adding value for businesses and consumers alike.

Microsoft today said it will expand its footprint in India's healthcare sector by bringing in artificial intelligence for cardiology. "One of the things you immediately find out is that there's tremendous possibilities in extracting insights from how health data lead to better outcomes in what doctors do," Dr. Peter Lee, corporate vice president, AI & Research, at Microsoft told PTI after he announced the initiative in Las Vegas on the sidelines of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) annual conference and exhibition. Microsoft has partnered with Apollo Hospital to create an AI-focused network in cardiology. It has also announced the expansion of the Microsoft Intelligent Network for eyecare. The Apollo partnership, he said, will work to develop and deploy new machine learning models to predict patient risk for heart disease and assists doctors on treatment plans.

In May, the company outlined its vision for the future of computing at Microsoft Build. According to Microsoft SEO Satya Nadella, the future of computing "comes down to the design principles and choices we make. I believe we can make practical design choices that help enshrine our timeless values. The first one is that we empower people with technology. Let's use technology to bring more empowerment to more people."

Microsoft's push into the connected car space has moved up a gear with a new patent licensing agreement with Toyota. The world's second-largest auto maker will have access to a range of Microsoft patents as part of the deal announced this week. Rather than trying to build a high-tech automobile of its own, Microsoft is focusing on providing carmakers with the tools they need to create smarter vehicles and the Toyota deal is the first of what it hopes will be a series of such agreements. Microsoft offers an entire suite of cloud services aimed at aiding the development of internet-enabled automobiles and is also integrating its Cortana virtual assistant into cars alongside PCs, phones and other devices. In the future, a connected car could become a rolling extension of a user's office, with Office 365 integrations.

Microsoft is keen on making sure people with disabilities can use their products, and next year it's only going to expand upon that directive. It starts with some big additions to Windows 10 and Narrator for the Creators Update like support for braille, some 10 news voices for text to speech and volume ducking when Narrator chimes in while you're listening to Spotify or another music program. Narrator will also dovetail better with the Edge browser too, making it easier to fill out forms and navigation via heading levels. On Xbox One (that's a Windows device too, remember?) If you were worried that Office 365 would be left out, those fears were unfounded.