4 ms·

"conversation as a platform"? Is he talking about that "Tay" debacle? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/microsoft-tay-racist-tweets_us_56f3e678e4b04c4c376155

"conversation as a platform"? Is he talking about that "Tay" debacle? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/microsoft-tay-racist-tweets_us_56f3e678e4b04c4c37615502 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/microsoft-tay-racist-twe... Reading this article reminds me about the story of McDonald's. After a certain level in the organization, at a certain executive delusion, McDonalds starts thinking they are all restaurateurs, and not low-quality fast food establishments to get a quick bite. They are so out of touch with what people are really doing and using their products, so misguided, they actually fail to innovate on their core concept. For a company that finally has a decent web browser (and it's still not anywhere near Chrome/FF in terms of features and developer adoption), I am skeptical at best. Does anyone remember when Steve ignored the web and mobile for so many years, while Google and Facebook and Apple practically ate their lunch? Remember when he famously said he was "betting the company on .net"? http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2000-10-29/microsofts-big-bet http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2000-10-29/microsofts... "AI" is just a tool like .net is a tool. It's not a product or idea. It's not a service. It's cool to be excited about your HoloLens and 3D calendar, but it's just a calendar, and after the hype has worn down most people would prefer to look at a calendar on a laptop anyway. "AI" is Microsoft's new .net

gone35 10y ago
"AI" is just a tool like .net is a tool. It's not a product or idea. It's not a service. It's cool to be excited about your HoloLens and 3D calendar, but it's just a calendar, and after the hype has worn down most people would prefer to look at a calendar on a laptop anyway. "AI" is Microsoft's new .net This. It is as vacuous as saying "betting the future on the Fourier transform", or something. And besides, they just closed the venerable Microsoft Research Silicon Valley, so it's not that they are putting their money where their mouth is.
- bearcobra 10y ago
  And besides, they just closed the venerable Microsoft Research Silicon Valley, so it's not that they are putting their money where their mouth is. That was almost 2 years ago and it doesn't seem like it had much of an impact on their R&D spending http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=Google+vs+Apple+vs+Microsoft+R%26D+Expense&x=0&y=0 http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=Google+vs+Apple+vs+Micr...
- internaut 10y ago
  > they just closed the venerable Microsoft Research Silicon Valley, so it's not that they are putting their money where their mouth is. I seem to remember they fired Leslie Lamport.
  - internaut 10y ago
    Am correct. https://j2kun.svbtle.com/what-microsoft-lost-when-it-closed-msr-silicon-valley https://j2kun.svbtle.com/what-microsoft-lost-when-it-closed-...
throwawaymsft 10y ago
Exactly. "Betting its future" is a line MSFT has to trot out every few years to get people to pay attention. They previous bet their future on .net, phones, tablets, Azure, cloud...
basch 10y ago
"as a platform" just sounds so silly in some contexts. this is "fuzzy command line as a Human–computer interaction interface" they should really call it an interface not a platform. a bunch of constantly moving, discrete services built by silos is not a platform, its a jagged, nonstandard mountain range. platform implies stable base.

gone35 10y ago

"AI" is just a tool like .net is a tool. It's not a product or idea. It's not a service. It's cool to be excited about your HoloLens and 3D calendar, but it's just a calendar, and after the hype has worn down most people would prefer to look at a calendar on a laptop anyway. "AI" is Microsoft's new .net This. It is as vacuous as saying "betting the future on the Fourier transform", or something. And besides, they just closed the venerable Microsoft Research Silicon Valley, so it's not that they are putting their money where their mouth is.

bearcobra 10y ago
And besides, they just closed the venerable Microsoft Research Silicon Valley, so it's not that they are putting their money where their mouth is. That was almost 2 years ago and it doesn't seem like it had much of an impact on their R&D spending http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=Google+vs+Apple+vs+Microsoft+R%26D+Expense&x=0&y=0 http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=Google+vs+Apple+vs+Micr...
internaut 10y ago
> they just closed the venerable Microsoft Research Silicon Valley, so it's not that they are putting their money where their mouth is. I seem to remember they fired Leslie Lamport.
- internaut 10y ago
  Am correct. https://j2kun.svbtle.com/what-microsoft-lost-when-it-closed-msr-silicon-valley https://j2kun.svbtle.com/what-microsoft-lost-when-it-closed-...

throwawaymsft 10y ago

Exactly. "Betting its future" is a line MSFT has to trot out every few years to get people to pay attention. They previous bet their future on .net, phones, tablets, Azure, cloud...

basch 10y ago

"as a platform" just sounds so silly in some contexts. this is "fuzzy command line as a Human–computer interaction interface" they should really call it an interface not a platform. a bunch of constantly moving, discrete services built by silos is not a platform, its a jagged, nonstandard mountain range. platform implies stable base.