AI For Good Lab
Leveraging the power of data, cloud technology, data science talent, and the Microsoft brand to catalyze and inspire others to partner in solving the world’s greatest challenges.
As people and organizations increasingly look to digital technology to help address the complex challenges facing the world, technology leaders have never been better positioned to positively influence the lives of millions. Innovating and acting responsibly is more imperative than ever. Microsoft is committed to creating a more equitable, sustainable, resilient and secure future, and seeks to incorporate these pillars into everything it does.
Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab is an applied research and data visualization lab that harnesses the power of big data, and Microsoft’s cloud technology. Our team of data scientists works across groups and with strategic partners and experts from academia, global non-profits and all levels of government to address critical global concerns. We combine AI, machine learning, applied analytics and data visualization with highly specialized data sets from our partners, such as geospatial and acoustic data, as well as data only available to Microsoft. Our focus areas include digital literacy and equity, sustainability and climate change, disaster response and resilience, natural resource conservation, health disparities, food insecurity, cybersecurity, and many others.
Below is an overview of the Lab’s current and past work, our near-term direction, and how the Lab’s work maps to Microsoft’s larger initiatives and goals. To learn more about these key initiatives and the work being done with the Lab and across Microsoft visit Microsoft Corporate Social Responsibility.
Initiatives
Inclusivity in the growing digital economy
The Lab works nationally and globally to support Microsoft’s goal of inclusivity. We are measuring digital literacy and identifying gaps across the U.S. and creating analytics to help boost the acquisition of digital skills worldwide. We are creating tools that illuminate gaps in rural broadband availability at a granular level. And we are expanding digital inclusivity of the Global South by opening new AI labs in three countries.
Creating a sustainable future
The Lab supports sustainability in many ways, from mapping the world’s solar and wind installations and measuring their capacity using AI, to bolstering climate resilience in the Global South by opening locations in Egypt and Kenya. Our data scientists are working to better analyze climate change using satellite imagery, and helping conservationists monitor wildlife species.
Fundamental human rights and building for resiliency
We are helping countries become more resilient in the face of natural disasters by applying machine learning to geospatial data to gain insights on disaster impacts, and developing tools to predict impacts ahead of time so they can better prepare. And we are focusing on analyzing public health by creating visualization tools to convey insights on health risks, disease prevalence and healthcare access to policymakers making public health decisions.
Specialties
Featured news
- MICROSOFT ON THE ISSUES Closing the Climate Data Divide in the Global South
- MICROSOFT ON THE ISSUES Closing the Sustainability Skills Gap: Helping businesses move from pledges to progress
- MICROSOFT NEWS CENTER Microsoft, Planet and The Nature Conservancy launch the Global Renewables Watch
- MICROSOFT ON THE ISSUES A street-by-street view of digital inequity in the United States
- MICROSOFT ON THE ISSUES Defending Ukraine: Early Lessons from the Cyber War
- ANALYTICS INDIA Microsoft launches Open Data for Society
- CNN – Julia chatterly Eyes in the sky – Planet Labs satellites track a changing globe
“We live in a rapidly changing world and a world that is facing big challenges. Yet we have never been in a better position to use technology to help address these issues and positively influence the lives of millions on our planet as well as the planet itself.”
— Juan Lavista Ferres, VP Data Science, AI for Good Lab, Microsoft
