Microsoft begins dollar 40 million AI programme for humanitarian causes

Microsoft on Monday launched a new 40million programme aimed at harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence AI for disaster recovery helping children protecting refugees and displaced people and promoting respect for human rightsThe tech giant said it would execute the fiveyear programme by working deeply with select nongovernmental and humanitarian organisations through grants investment of technology and shared expertiseUnveiled at the annual Microsoft Ignite 2018 conference here the programme called AI for Humanitarian Action is part of Microsofts AI for Good initiative that was launched in July last yearToday in conjunction with the United Nations General Assembly meeting we are announcing AI for Humanitarian Action a new 40million dollar fiveyear Microsoft programme said Microsoft President Brad SmithWe believe that technology like AI combined with Cloud technology can be a game changer helping save more lives alleviate suffering and restore human dignity by changing the way frontline relief organisations anticipate predict and better target response efforts Smith added in a blog postAt the conference Microsoft also released an array of security programmes and productsAmong them are Microsoft Secure Score a dynamic report card that assesses Microsoft 365 customer environments and makes recommendations that can reduce breaches up to 30fold and Microsoft Authenticator which helps make secure signon easier for workers with features like passwordfree loginIn this era of the intelligent Cloud and intelligent edge businesses in every industry are looking for a trusted partner to help them transform Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in his keynote addressWe are pushing the bounds in AI edge computing and IoT Internet of Things while providing endtoend security to empower every organisation to build its own digital capability and thrive in this new era Nadella addedMicrosoft said its AI for Humanitarian Action programme will accelerate the pace of innovation by managing strategic AI projects that demonstrate new applications delivering reusable solutions and partnering with others to expand and scale initial projectsAI can address humanitarian causes in myriad ways For example AI technologies like machine vision can quickly analyse images of roads damaged or destroyed by an event making way for a faster and safer response Smith explainedIn a new partnership with the World Bank United Nations and partners from the tech industry relief organisations will be better able to predict when and where future famines will occur so aid can arrive earlier potentially saving more lives the Microsoft President notedAI and Machine Learning ML also have the potential to improve the lives of approximately 68 million displaced people in the world 28 million of whom are refugeesAI can help optimise the delivery of aid supplies and services to refugees and can scale NGOs efforts to communicate and understand displaced peoples needs Smith explainedThe company said it would collaborate with NGOs and humanitarian organisations to accelerate breakthrough solutions to help monitor detect and prevent human rights abusesWe are hopeful the world will see what a compelling force for good AI can be when its used well in partnership with innovative NGOs By ensuring technology fulfils its promise to address the broadest societal needs we can empower everyone to achieve more Smith notedCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Except for the change in the headline the story has been provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE without any verification or editing from our side Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever