Cars are now driving themselves, artificial intelligence (AI) can beat the most advanced gamers, and human-like robots can do backflips. The futuristic world – that seemed a distant possibility from the sci-fi movies of the past few decades – now appears to be just around the corner.
While experts are left guessing just how long it will take before human-like intelligence and robots with superhuman senses will be part of our everyday lives, simpler machine learning, algorithms, and AI are already mainstays.
In an effort to demonstrate that it doesn’t take a warehouse crammed with researchers to apply AI and computer vision, Microsoft is bringing a hackathon to TechBBQ.
According to Sherry List, the Azure Developer Technical Lead at Microsoft and the Vice Chairwoman of the Board at Hack Your Future Copenhagen: “TechBBQ brings together innovators from across Scandinavia, who are looking to disrupt industries and use technology in innovative ways. We’re looking to collaborate with developers at the event and explore how computer vision can be used to improve how businesses work through opportunities for digital transformation, help scaling businesses, and working more effectively. It’s a great opportunity for us to meet developers who are new to AI and to get their perspectives, and for them to hopefully learn more about the current ready-made services.”
AI can be picked off the shelf
Tech products have already taken their first steps in terms of human-like capabilities. Spotify knows what kind of music we like and Google Photos can help us search through the pictures we’ve taken for a bike or a horse. Even though it is relatively simple AI, it is already a commodity to such a degree that it can be picked off the shelf.
In List’s words, “Popular Cloud services, like Microsoft Azure, are helping to democratize AI. That means these services are making it easier to add AI capabilities to existing applications. You can still build your own algorithms and models to fit specific requirements, but, in most cases, the ready-made Cloud services will be all you need.”
Even though we’ve only just scratched the surface of computer vision and AI’s potential, it has become the foundation for some remarkable products – from automatic expense report processes and quality assurance in manufacturing lines to keeping track of the population of endangered species of animals.
Looking for Nordic inspiration
During TechBBQ’s Microsoft’s Hackathon, participants will get to experience building solutions with computer vision and AI. The tech giant will provide participants with access to technology and coaches to help them explore its capabilities. Throughout the summit, Microsoft will also keep an eye on the Nordic ecosystem for another reason.
As List observed: “In the Nordics we have some of the most educated technical talent. Denmark has been a frontrunner in sustainability and renewable energy, so we will keep our eyes open for great innovations in this space. We are also bringing our global program, Microsoft for Startups to find new partnership opportunities with Danish and Nordic startups.”