December 2023

Feel like a trip around the planet?

Too busy, you say? Too tapped? Well, for this journey, there’s no charge – and no need to leave the quiet confines of your keyboard, your mobile device or your cozy home.

This month, we’ll whisk you across all seven continents to meet people using AI to hack some of Earth’s biggest challenges, like deforestation in the Amazon and financial exclusion in parts of Africa. You’ll also encounter folks relying on tech to tackle somewhat smaller tasks, like acing a school assignment in Europe.

Let’s get worldly.

In Africa, baby steps toward financial inclusion          

The baby girl arrived weeks early, bringing both delight and financial danger.

The infant and her mom, Jane Omondi, spent nearly a month together at a Nairobi hospital. But that meant Omondi’s fish stand sat unattended, halting her income as her medical expenses soared. 

Thankfully, mother, child – and the family budget – emerged healthy due to Omondi’s smartphone. She had bought the device with a microloan from M-KOPA, a Kenyan fintech. Then, using the phone as collateral, Omondi secured a low-interest loan and health insurance to cover her bills.

Through M-KOPA, which relies on Microsoft Azure, more than 3 million people in Africa have access to products, loans and insurance.

In Antarctica, listening to the whales

Scientists bundled up and headed south – way south – to better understand blue whales as the marine mammals continue to recover from mass hunting.

Researchers from Cornell University and other organizations used AI and machine learning to analyze recorded vocalizations or songs that blue whales use for their social calls off the coast of Antarctica.

We wondered: If you were to embark on a research mission to Antarctica, what’s one device or personal technology you couldn’t leave home without? Let us know in the comments.

In Asia, generative AI makes the grade 

How did a collection of college administrators decide to embrace AI? How else? With an exam.

Last spring, the University of Hong Kong purchased Azure OpenAI Service – but only for staff and just for three months, allowing time to assess how generative AI can benefit the learning process.

In June, the tech passed.

The college ultimately declared generative AI a “fifth literacy” for students, along with oral, written, visual and digital. Today, that school is one of eight Hong Kong universities that make AI available to students and staff, describing it as “an opportunity to reinvent our teaching.”

In Australia, ‘Of Mice and Men’ meets AI

Generations of teachers have asked students to read John Steinbeck’s books to see how the American author revealed the human struggle.

Recently, educators in Australia wanted their students to use generative AI to research the plot of Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” along with scientific topics like cellular division.

To keep those explorations age-appropriate, the educators turned to an AI chatbot built with special safeguards. Called EdChat, the tool relies on Azure AI Content Safety to block improper input queries and filter harmful responses. In other words, it lets teachers teach – not be content cops.

In Europe, a breeze of a class

It was a blustery day in the seaside town of Brighton, England – perfect weather for students who recently huddled there with their laptops.

They had traveled to Rampion Wind Farm, not far from their school, to learn how the facility’s offshore turbines generate energy for 350,000 homes in the region.  

But the day’s highlight was their homework: Design your own offshore wind farm to power a coastal village. Using a new world in Minecraft Education, the students figured out where to place their virtual turbines without disrupting shipping channels or marine habitats.

In North America, forecasting the next fire 

Dousing wildfires often requires predicting the future: Where will the next inferno erupt?

That kind of foresight calls for a quick scrutiny of fire dangers and resource needs in a specific area, enabling crews and equipment to be strategically positioned the day before any sparks ignite. But some forecasts fall short.

In western Canada’s Alberta province, firefighters have tightened their prognostications with an AI-powered tool. It analyzes thousands of data points to assess an area’s wildfire probability, accurately forecasting 80% of outbreaks.

In South America, the planet-healing promise of cute critter photos

Can animal selfies help curb climate change?

In the Colombian Amazon, scattered camera boxes snap photos of passing creatures. Manually scanning those millions of images would take years.

But with AI, researchers can immediately see when a species from a distant habitat has wandered by a specific camera – a visible warning that deforestation may be damaging the ecosystem, forcing animals to relocate to survive.

Researchers hope the system will accelerate action plans to stop deforestation. Why is that crucial? The Amazon rainforest’s thick canopy absorbs vast amounts of carbon dioxide, which helps regulate weather around the world – including, yes, in the sky above your cozy home.

We hope “The Monthly Tech-In” feeds your digital appetite. Between issues, keep current with the latest Microsoft innovations by following us on LinkedIn or by visiting us at Microsoft Source.