Microsoft Bing and Cortana VP Derrick Connell is leaving the company

Derrick Connell, Corporate Vice President of Bing and Cortana at Microsoft is leaving the company. Recently, Derrick and his team joined
the newly formed Microsoft AI and Research Group. The Microsoft AI and Research Group now includes AI product engineering, basic and applied research labs, and New Experiences and Technologies (NExT). After 25 years at Microsoft, Derrick is now taking long term leave of absence  to pursue his personal passion. He has started a non-profit to use AI technologies to be a positive voice for human rights.

AI can  monitor and protect our rights (The Universal Declaration of Human Rights). With public access to government, NGO and social data AI can monitor for infringements of our rights, predict incidents where our rights may become infringed and through new technology likes social bots keep us all informed of what is happening, and how we can #resist. I believe technologists want to change the world and we are responsible for doing it in an ethical way working with non profits and NGO’s.

You can learn more about his project here.