Microsoft debuted a slew of new AI technologies at their annual Ignite conference. One of the most interesting is an AI system called "PeopleLens." PeopleLens is a platform that uses computer vision algorithms to help blind people engage with their social surroundings. The system is designed to identify and interpret objects in the user's environment and relay those details back to the user in a way that they can understand. This opens a world of possibilities for blind people, who until now have been largely cut off from social interaction. With PeopleLens, they can now participate in conversations, navigate their surroundings, and generally experience the world in a way that was once impossible.

The aim was to create a machine learning system to help blind people … They then used deep learning algorithms to train a computer vision model …

The adoption of AI technology is primed for growth over the next few years, but the direction that growth will take and how it will affect enterprises is anyone's guess. Speaking at the AI World Conference and Expo in Boston in December, Heath Terry, an analyst and manager in Goldman Sachs' Global Investment Research group, said that the newest AI technology will disrupt software and job markets. In this edition of the Talking Data podcast, we examine his predictions. One of the big points Terry made is that if you're waiting for established technology players like Amazon, Google or IBM to deliver tomorrow's most impactful AI tools, you're going to be disappointed. He pointed out that few new technologies were pioneered by existing tech companies.