Now in its second year, the Accelerator builds on last year’s success, which saw 11 organisations graduate, all of whom reported positive impact on their business following the programme.

Launched by our Chief Environmental Officer Dr Lucas Joppa, the UK AI for Good Accelerator will be run by Microsoft for Startups and the Social Tech Trust from our accelerator space in Shoreditch, London. At launch, Joppa said:

“AI is one of the most important tools we have to accelerate innovation at the speed and scale we need to address climate change and other important societal challenges. It’s exciting to see Microsoft’s AI for Good initiative evolving to engage new partners and help catalyse social impact organisations across the UK.”

An equally enthusiastic Ed Evans, CEO of Social Tech Trust, said:

“We have an exciting opportunity to help more social tech ventures to shape the future we want to see, using AI. I’m inspired by the growth we’ve seen from the 11 ventures in our first cohort and can’t wait to see the very best UK social tech innovations that emerge as we open applications for our second AI for Good programme, in partnership with Microsoft.”

AI’s positive impact

41% of UK business leaders believe AI is set to have a positive impact on the UK economy. These findings, drawn from our research report ‘Accelerating competitive advantage with AI’, indicates the UK is starting to see the benefits of AI in practice.

Aligning with Microsoft’s mission to empower every person and every organisation to achieve more, previous cohort members all have a fundamental commitment to driving positive societal impact in four key areas:

• AI for Earth, designed for organisations using AI to build a sustainable future and address global environmental concerns spanning agriculture, biodiversity, climate change, and water.
• AI for Accessibility, focused on organisations with AI solutions that help everyone in their daily life, employment, and communication and connection.
• AI for Humanitarian Action, for non-profit and humanitarian organisations providing disaster responses, human rights protection, and support for refugees, displaced people or children.
• AI for Cultural Heritage, our newest category, aims to empower people and organisations focused on the preservation and enrichment of cultural heritage. This includes celebrating the people who have made significant impact throughout history, developing digital tools to preserving important monuments for the future generation, engaging with communities for language preservation, and creating ways for collections and archives to be more easily accessed and enjoyed.

Organisations can apply to join our programme from now until November 22 2019, telling us how they’re developing an AI solution for good in any of the four categories.

[msce_cta layout=”image_center” align=”center” linktype=”blue” imageurl=”http://approjects.co.za/?big=en-gb/industry/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/CTA.jpg” linkurl=”https://aka.ms/Cohort2020″ linkscreenreadertext=”Application page for the AI for Good 2020 programme” linktext=”Apply for AI for Good 2020″ imageid=”17040″ ][/msce_cta]

An expert-led curriculum for purpose-driven UK ventures

For four months, beginning in February 2020, your organisation will benefit from the resources, advice, and one-to-one support you need to help scale your AI project with Microsoft, Social Tech Trust and our other key partners.

Our expert-led curriculum covers technical guidance to business development and marketing; it’s packed with workshops, seminars, and tightly focused modules on topics including AI and social impact frameworks.

Last year, we saw some truly inspiring successes across each of our social programmes, with organisations focused on optimising not just their solution, but their entire business structure.

Reflecting on her time on the accelerator programme, Isabel Van de Keere, CEO of Immersive Rehab, which uses virtual reality to improve the effectiveness of physical and neurorehabilitation, said:

“The programme has been and still is extremely valuable for Immersive Rehab. Not only did it give us the opportunity to define our AI strategy further, we are also still in touch with experts in the field of AI, Immersive Tech, and Healthcare at Microsoft to take our solution to the next level.”

Microsoft strongly believes that when built with people in mind, AI technology has the power to extend our capabilities well beyond our limits, amplifying human ingenuity and empowering us all to achieve more.

Our AI for Good programme not only helps local businesses bring AI solutions to market, but also creates a global consensus about the need to develop responsible, ethical AI. Given there are around 70,000 social enterprise businesses in the UK contributing over £24 billion to the economy, this means that the country can lead the development of responsible AI solutions, for the good of everyone.

According to Hugh Milward, Microsoft UK’s Director, Corporate External and Legal Affairs:

“It’s not enough that AI has the power to transform the way we do things. We must also make sure we use AI as a tool for social good. I’m thrilled that we’re going to welcome another cohort of organisations creating social change in the UK. Having seen first-hand the impact last year’s group had, I hope that this year we can help even more organisations to make a difference.”

We’re excited to welcome the next group of ventures, start-ups, and social enterprises harnessing the power of AI to transform the world for the better.

Applications have now closed for our AI for Good accelerator programme – watch this space as we announce the 12 selected startups for our 2020 cohort!”

The post Make a difference with our AI for Good Accelerator Programme appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

However, while organisations are beginning to turbo-charge their AI efforts, not everyone is taking advantage of the technology. As a result, they’re handing success to their rivals.

This is one of the many significant findings revealed in Microsoft’s AI research report, ‘Accelerating Competitive Advantage with AI’, launched today at our flagship event Future Decoded. The report takes an in-depth look at AI’s potential to be a catalyst for business growth in the UK and provides practical steps to help organisations accelerate their AI journey.

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Consideration vs. action

Our 2018 report ‘Maximising the AI Opportunity’, which collated the views of business leaders policymakers, and industry experts across every sector, revealed two fascinating insights. On the one hand, businesses understood the power of AI; on the other, many were locked in a constant cycle of assessment over implementation.

This year, we’re beginning to see that gap between consideration and action dramatically close. Executives realise the value and benefits of an AI-led digital transformation – improving experiences for both employees and customers, driving productivity, and, perhaps most important in these tumultuous times, giving them the competitive advantage.

As such, we’ve seen an incredible performance jump for businesses already engaged with scaling their AI. Last year, AI-driven businesses performed on average 5% better than their rivals. Today, that figure sits at 11.5%.

Last year, AI-driven businesses performed on average 5% better than their rivals. Today, that figure sits at 11.5%.

Despite this, many organisations remain locked in the exploration stage or aren’t doing anything at all. Our research shows that 48% of companies are still experimenting with AI; 34% aren’t using the technology at all. Just 8% of companies can be classed as ‘Advanced AI users’.

This puts companies at a huge disadvantage. Evidence shows that organisations already on the path to AI enablement are better equipped to adopt the technology more efficiently elsewhere in the business. In comparison, organisations that are new to AI are not experiencing the same speed of progress as those that are already on the journey.

Outpacing the competition

In many ways, the lack of action in introducing AI mirrors the start of the internet revolution of the 1990s, which saw countless businesses suffer because they didn’t have an online presence. Today, it’s unthinkable that a company wouldn’t have a website. In the coming years, we shall think the same about AI. It’s fast becoming essential for every organisation in every industry and sector.

At the same time, we’re witnessing a serious desire for innovation. Our report shows 38% of those surveyed want to pioneer AI technologies and applications in new ways. After all, if they don’t take the lead now, other organisations will. Robbie Stamp, Chief Executive Officer of BIOSS, explains:

“There is an element of organisations looking over their shoulders and fearing they are missing out on something that will provide a massive competitive advantage – that if they are not engaged in AI, they are going to lose.”

More work to do

The global AI market is rapidly expanding. By 2030, it’s set to be worth $15.7 trillion, according to PWC’s study ‘Exploiting the AI Revolution’. Little wonder, then, that the UK government has committed to investing £115 million in graduate-level AI training.

Despite this breakthrough, there is still more work to be done in AI implementation. For those not yet riding the wave, it’s imperative to introduce the right technologies and applications or risk being overtaken by their more progressive counterparts. Our research, however, shows this goes beyond technology, and into the realms of company culture. In the companies we surveyed, we uncovered three core areas where implementation is focused:

• Scaling AI across the entire organisation, rather than single departments
• Re-skilling all staff, if necessary, so they may contribute to the success of AI
• The ethical development, deployment and operation of AI, promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace

This, then, is ‘AI for everyone’. A journey that begins with the ultimate goal of becoming an organisation that is truly powered by AI at all levels. For those that are prepared to make that journey, unprecedented opportunity awaits.

Find out more

Watch the keynote session from Future Decoded: Accelerating competitive advantage with AI

About the author

Clare was appointed Chief Operating Officer for Microsoft UK in February 2017. Her remit covers leading the direction and success of sales, marketing, and services in each of the business groups, strategy and planning, as well as running marketing for the company’s products and services in the UK. She leads the transformation and cultural change for Microsoft UK and is very passionate about extending this work to help customers drive digital transformation in their organisations. With over 25 years in the technology industry, of which 20 have been spent in diverse roles across Microsoft, Clare was previously General Manager of the Small, Medium Enterprise and Partner Group. In this role, she led a team driving sales and marketing efforts, providing comprehensive solutions for small, medium, and corporate customers across both commercial and public sector organisations. Before joining Microsoft, Clare held many business development and marketing-related roles within the technology field, specialise in how to build partnerships and new routes to market. She lives in London with her husband, who is an author, and their two young sons.

The post AI-driven businesses surge ahead of competition appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

Today marks Global Accessibility Awareness Day. It’s a day when we get to celebrate the progress our customers and partners have made to create more inclusive workplaces. It’s also a good time to look ahead at what more we can do as a community to empower everyone in the workplace.

We celebrate because our customers are empowering their employees both with the accessible technology built into Microsoft 365, and with the inclusive cultural practices that make people love coming to work. We are comparing notes and learning from them as we also continue to build that same inclusive culture at Microsoft.

We recently celebrated a milestone with recognition from the U.K. Government as a Disability Confident Leader. This status is awarded to organisations that commit to diversity and inclusion, and encourage suppliers and vendors to do the same. Our team has worked tirelessly to establish processes that create and sustain a diverse and inclusive culture:

• Attracting and recruiting people with disabilities via our global Inclusive Hiring Program.
• Training managers to understand the needs of those with visible and non-visible disabilities.
• Assessing people for roles more flexibly so those with disabilities have the best opportunity to show their skills.
• Adjusting workplaces to include sign language interpreters.
• Ensuring all staff have access to disability equality awareness training.

Features that empower

We also look ahead to our big vision—an accessible and inclusive workplace for everyone—and what more we can do as a company and as a community to make it a reality. We’re excited to announce that live captions and subtitles in PowerPoint will soon be generally available to Microsoft 365 and Office 365 subscribers worldwide for Windows, Mac, and the web. And we look forward to the coming release of other new inclusive technologies built into Microsoft 365, like live captions and subtitles in Teams meetings.

Present inclusively with live captions and subtitles in PowerPoint. We know how powerful a great presentation can be—whether it inspires us or aligns us to a common goal. Now, with support for 12 spoken languages and 60-plus on-screen captions or subtitle languages, people who are deaf or hard of hearing can be included in these important team-building moments. Additionally, with an increasingly global and remote set of collaborators, those who speak a different language from the presenter or are listening in from a loud environment, can also more easily be included.

Transform the meeting experience for people with disabilities. We also know the critical role meetings play in how we work, and recently announced that live captions and subtitles will also be available in Teams meetings. These capabilities are coming soon as a preview in English and complement the captioning and transcription features already generally available for recorded Teams meetings and live events in Stream, Teams, and Yammer. Whether in a one-to-one with your manager, or a company-wide all hands, everyone should feel included when the team gets together, including people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

We constantly release new features and improvements to make our products not just compliant with the latest standards, but empowering for all users, both with and without disability. We encourage you to read all about these features in the Microsoft Accessibility Features Sway.

Building the inclusive workplace together

Many of our customers are committed to making this vision of an inclusive workplace a reality and are partnering with us to realise that goal. Last month, the Federal Government of Canada chose Microsoft as a partner in its effort to create a more modern and accessible public service. The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility, said, “Equipping our public servants with accessible, reliable, and innovative technologies will unleash the potential of our world-class public service and result in better service delivery for all Canadians.” At Microsoft, we agree. Only when we represent the diversity we see in the world internally can we build the most innovative technology and serve our customers as they should be served.

We also see Rogers Communications, a leading Canadian communications and media company, shares our vision of a more inclusive workplace. Rogers is transforming its physical workplace by being more collaborative and inclusive using the accessible technologies built into Microsoft 365 applications. Best of all, we’re helping and learning from each other along the way. Our teams work regularly with Rogers to understand how our technology can better support its commitment to building an inclusive workplace. Specifically, we listen to Rogers’ Persons with Disability Diversity group to learn how we can embed inclusive design principles into our products and culture. Read the full blog to learn more about how Rogers is building an inclusive culture to benefit employees, customers, and the broader community.

Join us!

We have so much more to do—as an organisation, an employer, a leader, and a follower—in this journey towards an accessible and inclusive workplace, and we hope you’ll join us. Visit the Microsoft Accessibility site to learn more about our approach. Share your learnings with #LearningTogether and #GAAD and continue the conversation with @MSFTEnable on Twitter.

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