“Science fiction has made an indelible impression on what people understand artificial intelligence (AI) to be. There is much anxiety that AI will take jobs, and fear that intelligent robots may harm us and one day take over the world. This causes us at Microsoft great concern because if AI is to truly benefit society, we must gain the trust of the people whose lives it will transform.

“We want to encourage healthy public debate, and it is only by confronting the most troubling ethical and moral questions that we can fully understand and anticipate the wide-ranging impact that AI will undoubtedly have over time.

“With that in mind, we’ve put together a series of articles on AI to explore the themes that occupy the public consciousness. We want to make it clear how Microsoft views these issues and what we are doing to tackle those aspects of AI that worry people the most.

“In this first article, we set the scene for debate and look at the basics of AI to dispel some of the myths and misinformation surrounding it. In subsequent articles, we’ll look at topics ranging from ethical design and data bias, to applications in industry and learning new skills to prepare for the workplace of the future.

“We think this is a phenomenally exciting time for technology and society, but it is not without its difficulties, dilemmas, questions and a weight of responsibility on those who develop and bring artificial intelligence into our lives. As one of the companies that’s doing just that, we take this responsibility very seriously.”

By Chris Bishop, Lab Director of Microsoft Research Cambridge and Microsoft Technical Fellow