Satya Nadella and other Microsoft execs talk about the future of AI, the company's approach to open platforms, and how the era of the “talented jerk” is over
MICROSOFT HASN'T ALWAYS had a reputation for being “open,” but CEO Satya Nadella and the rest of his executive team … Tweets: @laurengoode , @laurengoode , @laurengoode , @laurengoode , @laurengoode , @laurengoode , @pipms , @peggyj , @laurengoode , and @davegershgorn Tweets: Lauren Goode / @laurengoode : When I asked Nadella about Microsoft's very well-known diversity issues, he told me that the era of the “talented jerk” is over. And that in 2019, if anyone in this industry wants to succeed, they'll have to have an inclusive mindset. Lauren Goode / @laurengoode : Like any tech co that's been in business for decades at this point, Microsoft had had to shift from shrink-wrap to downloaded to subscription software. One way to keep customers coming back is to promise that your software can both identify broken things *and* fix those things. Lauren Goode / @laurengoode : When I asked Nadella how he plans to fix those issues, this was his response: pic.twitter.com/EmxIpSy3P6 Lauren Goode / @laurengoode : Another observation Nadella made during our convo: He believes the tech industry thinks most of the AI engineering talent exists on the US west coast. His belief is that as more businesses create AI teams (using Azure Machine Learning, natch) the talent pool will be much broader. Lauren Goode / @laurengoode : Along with some mixed reality applications and AI features. But, as is covered in the story, AI is a loaded topic for Microsoft. It's behind when it comes to AI in productivity apps, but co is really more interested in selling machine learning at scale to enterprise customers. Lauren Goode / @laurengoode : It's worth noting that Microsoft's diversity numbers are still worse than Apple, Facebook, Google's, accdg to 2018 diversity reports. And, as has been reported by @nitashatiku, a group of employees recently stood up to Nadella to protest the treatment of women within the company. Pip Marlow / @pipms : Platform companies are at their best when they create more opportunities for others. Spot on. Microsoft's Satya Nadella Throws the Doors Open Ahead of Build https://www.wired.com/... Peggy Johnson / @peggyj : Nearly 5 years ago, @satyanadella's transformative mindset brought me to Microsoft. We have an opportunity to drive major change in how we collaborate, and to include more diverse voices - get an insider's perspective on how that's happening: https://www.wired.com/... Lauren Goode / @laurengoode : I sat down with Microsoft CEO @satyanadella ahead of #Build2019 to talk about the company's approach to open platforms, the future of AI, and Microsoft's diversity problems https://www.wired.com/... Dave Gershgorn / @davegershgorn : this is a super weird line bc it both assumes harassers are talented and downplays the severity of what has been happening within Microsoft for years https://twitter.com/... Expand More For Next 2 Unexpand More For Next 2