My Journey from Research to Product

March 24, 2020 09:00

Abstract: After 11 years working in Microsoft Research studying technology use in homes and building technologies for families, in January 2016 I took a leap and joined the Microsoft Cortana product team with the goal of shipping the technologies I had been researching. For Cortana, I've helped drive far-field speech interaction experiences, ship Microsoft's Cortana Invoke speaker and led Microsoft's multi-assistant strategy including connecting Cortana and Alexa. I'll share the lessons I have learned in my journey from doing research to being part of a team shipping features used by millions of people including some surprising similarities between working in research and product development as well as unanticipated differences. With the rapid adoption of digital assistants from a range of companies on many different hardware form factors this is an exciting time to be working on speech interaction and digital assistance.

Digitally mapping the human behaviorome

March 25, 2020 08:40

Abstract: Researchers and practitioners in numerous fields yearn to understand human behavior and use that knowledge to improve the quality of life for individuals and populations. Until recently, theories of behavior and its relationship with genetics, health, and the environment have been based on self-report or human-observed information. Given the meteoric rise of pervasive and machine learning technologies, researchers now have the necessary tools to map a personalized human behaviorome.

Despite these recent technology advances, we still face numerous challenges that limit our current ability to learn reliable, complete personal profiles. The ability to perform machine learning-based behavior observation and analysis in uncontrolled environments, where the physical twin lives, is a fundamental requirement. This capability is not only a key to understanding the relationship between behavior and its influences, but also represents an unmet need.

In this talk, we highlight methods that have been designed at the WSU CASAS lab to lay the foundation for digitally mapping a human behaviorome. We mention hurdles that were faced along the way, which unexpectedly created new research opportunities. We also tour some of the applications of the human behaviorome that the group is exploring, specifically to impact health and quality of life for adults as they age.

Considering Technology and Modern Citizenship

March 26, 2020 08:40

Abstract: The skills necessary to be viable in the modern economy are changing. The demographics of the country and the conception of citizenship are in flux. Considering Technology and Modern Citizenship is a discussion of the role of computing education and research in ensuring a sustainable democratic society.