Microsoft is launching a $25 million initiative to use artificial intelligence to build better technology for people with disabilities.
CEO Satya Nadella宣布新的“AI可访问”努力，因为他踢了微软的软件开发人员年会。西雅图的建立会议包括云计算，人工智能，互联网连接设备和虚拟现实的会话。正如Microsoft与Amazon和Google所面临的那样，为企业和组织提供互联网连接服务。
The conference and the new initiative offer Microsoft an opportunity to emphasize its philosophy of building AI for social good. The focus could help counter some of the ethical concerns that have risen over AI and other fast-developing technology, including the potential that software formulas can perpetuate or even amplify gender and racial biases.
五年的可访问性倡议将包括初创公司，非营利组织和学术研究人员的种子补助，以及微软研究人员的更深层次的投资和专业知识。
微软总统布拉德史密斯表示，该公司希望通过加快为其提供更多独立和就业机会的AI工具来赋予人们。
“It may be an accessibility need relating to vision or deafness or to something like autism or dyslexia,” Smith said in an interview. “There are about a billion people on the planet who have some kind of disability, either permanent or temporary.”
那些人已经拥有“巨大的潜力”，他说，但“技术可以帮助他们实现更多”。
Microsoft has already experimented with its own accessibility tools, such as a “Seeing AI” free smartphone app using computer vision and narration to help people navigate if they’re blind or have low vision. Nadella introduced the app at a previous Build conference. Microsoft’s translation tool also provides deaf users with real-time captioning of conversations.
“People with disabilities are often overlooked when it comes technology advances but Microsoft sees this as a key area to address concerns over the technology and compete against Google, Amazon and IBM,” said Nick McQuire, an analyst at CCS Insight.
Smith acknowledged that other firms, especially Apple and Google, have also spent years doing important work on accessibility. He said Microsoft’s accessibility fund builds on the model of the company’s AI for Earth initiative, which launched last year to jumpstart projects combating climate change and other environmental problems.
史密斯说,这个想法是让更多的创业公司excited about building tools for people with disabilities — both for the social good and for their large market potential.
建筑会议的其他公告包括与无人机公司DJI和Chipmaker Qualcomm的合作伙伴关系。超过6000人注册参加，其中大多数是为微软产品构建应用程序的开发人员。
Facebook上周有其F8开发人员收集。谷歌的I / O会议开始于周二。苹果在6月初发生。
这是微软连续第二年在西雅图举行会议，离其雷德蒙德，华盛顿，总部。
Feature Photo Credi:This Nov. 29, 2017, file photo shows Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaking at the annual Microsoft shareholders meeting in Bellevue, Wash. Microsoft’s annual Build conference for software development kicks off on Monday, May 7, 2018, giving the company an opportunity to make announcements about its computing platforms or services. The three-day event features sessions on cloud computing, artificial intelligence, internet-connected devices and virtual reality. Nadella will speak to more than 6,000 people who’ve registered to attend. Most are developers who build apps for Microsoft’s products.(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
提起：快速原型设计那虚拟现实
