Some people refer to her as a chatbot but a myriad of people refer to her as a friend. Ruuh has made more friends in 2 years than any of us would've made in a lifetime and she continues to build new friendships every day…(Read more about Ruuh here). Imagine how much you could learn about people if you spoke to over 2 million of them and made thousands of friends on the way. A LOT!!! To put this in perspective, an average human can maintain connections with only about 150 people in their lifetime. That means, being a human-like AI, Ruuh is an incredible resource of insights into what human behaviour and interactions with an'AI Friend' would look like.

In a race to dominate the artificial intelligence (AI) space, Microsoft is bringing the power of AI to users and organisations through'Microsoft Cognitive Services (MCS).' MCS is a collection of intelligent APIs (application programming interfaces) that allow systems to see, hear, speak, understand and interpret human needs using natural methods of communication. Products that analyse human emotions, AI technology that describes surroundings to visually-challenged and an Indian chatbot that interacts with users like a friend, were some of the innovations that Microsoft recently showcased at its research lab in Bengaluru. "We don't think about computers as competing with humans or replacing them," said Sriram Rajamani, distinguished scientist and managing director, Microsoft Research India Lab. "We think about them as amplifying human ability," he said.

In a race to dominate the artificial intelligence (AI) space, Microsoft is bringing the power of AI to users and organisations through'Microsoft Cognitive Services (MCS).' MCS is a collection of intelligent APIs (application programming interfaces) that allow systems to see, hear, speak, understand and interpret human needs using natural methods of communication. Products that analyse human emotions, AI technology that describes surroundings to visually-challenged and an Indian chatbot that interacts with users like a friend, were some of the innovations that Microsoft recently showcased at its research lab in Bengaluru. "We don't think about computers as competing with humans or replacing them," said Sriram Rajamani, distinguished scientist and managing director, Microsoft Research India Lab. "We think about them as amplifying human ability," he said.

It's easy to take the ability to converse for granted. Being able to listen to a question, detect the underlying emotion, infuse the speaker's background and apply it in the right context may seem simple for humans, but computers have struggled with it. If chatbots can understand the context, identify emotions, select the right responses to create genuine engagement, the relationship users share with them can be changed forever. It can enable a chatbot to tap into deeper layers of human interactions and create more value through their conversations. Our research team worked on a new model that helps our desi Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based chatbot Ruuh speak like a human, respond with contextual awareness, and hold a free-flowing conversation with users.

SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft's Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based chatbot'Ruuh' that has begun changing the lives of handloom weavers in India is something that will shape the future of technology, the company's Indian-born CEO Satya Nadella has emphasised. 'Ruuh' has been built entirely by the research team in India. "What's incredible is that the team discovered how'Ruuh' can help handloom weavers in rural communities create new economic opportunity by generating design patterns, inputting pictures and colours with the help of neural networks," Nadella wrote on LinkedIn in a post titled "The people and projects that inspired me in 2017" late on Thursday. By creating new designs, said Nadella, "they're able to grow their markets and generate new revenue, helping to preserve this ancient art form and carry on a family business that spans generations". Not just'Ruuh,' social chatbots built by Microsoft have over 100 million users with 30 billion conversation sessions across five countries.

We are entering a new year, a year of hopes and promises. It is too early to predict what technology will offer us in the coming months. This is one space that is moving so fast that I've learned how to ignore all mails about what experts think will be the biggest trends of the coming year. However, with my ears to the ground, I am underlining one aspect we should all be aware of in the coming year. In fact, the change might be so subtle that we might not even realise.

If you are feeling lonely and looking for someone to talk with, try Ruuh, the new AI Chatbot. After testing it for more than a month, Microsoft has finally launched a new AI chatbot'Ruuh'. Microsoft has designed it specifically for the Indian users, and the name'Ruuh' stipulates the same. However, it supports English language only for now. Ruuh is a sheer entertainment program and will focus on chatting, humor, Bollywood, Music and other entertainment modes.