The race to materialize the best Artificial Intelligence in existence has resulted to insurmountable technological feats, allowing convenience to people from all walks of life. Microsoft's digital assistant Cortana is a piece of sophistication subsisting in this fast-paced world, and now, Microsoft has come up with an AI whose impact will be directed upon the visually impaired.
The Upcoming Microsoft AI Will Analyze Images And Suggest Words To Be Read Aloud
Office 365 reports that an upcoming Microsoft AI update for Office apps like Microsoft Word and PowerPoint involve what the team calls the Alt-Text, which will automatically suggest image and slide deck captions using AI algorithms. Basically, when those files are delivered to blind users, computer tools used to translate the information onscreen into audio have text descriptions to work with.
To achieve this Microsoft AI update, the company is using its Computer Vision Cognitive Service. Microsoft's neural networks work alongside various deep learning techniques, which in effect will describe and understand the contents of images better.
"We will offer you automatic suggestions for alt-text when you insert a photographic image that can be recognized with high confidence," said the Office 365 team. "Through machine learning, this service will keep improving as more people use it, saving you significant time to make media-rich presentations accessible," they added.
Microsoft AI And The Tech Industry Are Putting Tech To Good Use
Microsoft's AI is breaking the boundaries of the conventional ways of coping, and tech giants are slowly becoming aware of the seemingly forgotten market's existence. Another noteworthy achievement is Facebook's AI application, wherein AI is being used to describe images, reports The Verge.
AI applications have come and gone over the years, but things are slowly getting clearer and finally being put to good use. Facebook and Microsoft's AI are merely the beginning; greater things are to come in 2017 and the years to come.
