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Collaborative Intelligence
Social and technological changes are transforming human productivity, creativity, communication, and play. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated a shift to technology-mediated collaboration that was already underway, and advances in AI systems mean that algorithms are playing an ever-increasing role in mediating human connection, as well as in the ways that knowledge is generated, interacted with, and built upon.
The changing role that technologies play in social interaction and human productivity raises questions around how people learn from and apply information, how they build skill, how they make connections and develop relationships, and how they can be supported in doing this when their needs and abilities may vary greatly. Further, it highlights challenges around how to aid people in developing knowledge and making data-driven decisions in collaboration with AI systems, and in understanding how those technologies are themselves shaped by human content and input.
As a team, we have long-standing expertise in fields including machine learning, programming languages, and human-computer interaction. Through deep multidisciplinary research, we invent new technologies and create intelligent experiences for users, which:
Augment and develop human capability
We empower people by building technologies that augment and develop human capability. This includes designing for long-term interactions with machine learning systems through which knowledge and skill is developed, supporting people with decisions and sensemaking, and helping them access the power of programming, even if they are beginners. We aim to create experiences through which people learn and technologies improve, and in which users understand how the underlying technology is shaped by their actions.
Enable interconnectedness and collaboration
Our work creates new forms of connectedness between people, and between humans and machines. This ranges from interactions that underpin social and collaborative work processes, to algorithms that match gamers, to machine learning systems that mediate connections between organization members and with the knowledge they produce.
Support diverse needs and ways of working
We reflect on the values that the technologies and user experiences we build embody, and our work is grounded in human-centred and inclusive design principles. The technologies we develop enable intentionality and cater for diverse needs and ways of working. They support users in their ambitions and are accessible to people across a range of abilities, levels of skill, contexts, and devices.
How we work
We build relationships with internal product teams, the external research community, and the wider technology community. We have durable partnerships with product teams that deliver Microsoft 365, including Excel, Teams, and Viva Topics, to learn and understand user needs and technical challenges. We also participate in research communities to know and advance the state-of-the-art. We are among the groups contributing to the New Future of Work initiative, the largest research initiative in Microsoft’s history, which leverages deep research to design a meaningful, productive, and equitable future of work.
About us
Our members are experts in multiple fields, including machine learning, programming languages, human-computer interaction, design, behavioural science, and software, hardware, and sensing engineering. Together, we conduct foundational socio-technical research, produce prototypes, and help deliver product features that combine technical excellence with human values and aspirations. These often draw on deep engagement with users and their lived experiences, and it is this that we ultimately seek to affect. Our multi-disciplinary approach results in real impact in many forms, from guiding international policy and strategy, to delivering specific features in Microsoft’s products.
