Anyone who follows development at Microsoft is probably aware of Microsoft Garage – a section of the company that’s always looking to help foster new ideas, and lead the company into some serious innovation. Three years ago, Microsoft Garage was instrumental in putting on a now annual event called a “Hackathon” – something that encourages employees to take on leadership roles and start their own projects.
This year was the largest yet, with over 18,000 participants, and about 48% of them all doing work on an artificial intelligence project.
Microsoft 2017 Hackathon winners announced! #AI takes the day. @msftgaragehttps://t.co/NXRPQ5Io4Y pic.twitter.com/RX4f6u9o9A
— The Microsoft Garage (@MSFTGarage) August 23, 2017
The dominance of the subject matter at this year’s Hackathon goes to show just how much good AI design has permeated the cutting edge of technology. It’s such a massive part of what we perceive to be our future, and its development is very heavily prized in the tech community. Whether it’s “self-driving wheelchairs” or technology that can predict traffic signal times, there was some great stuff.
The winners this year were 5 employees who had never attended a Hackathon before, and their idea was so exciting that Microsoft actually chose to “be discreet” when talking about it. It looks like whatever idea in AI came on top at this year’s event, we’ll be seeing it as a full-fledged product soon enough.
