Microsoft On the Issues | Technology News and Public Policy Perspectives

On The Issues

Cart

Sign in

How AI is helping track the growing monkey population in India

Woman at a computer

How to maintain your manners in the digital age

Computer hacker cyberattack

Looking back: 8 popular pieces from 2019

Tools and Weapons

Today in Technology: Lessons through time

What people are saying about the new book ‘Tools and Weapons’

Sustainability View more

Brazil river Atlantic Forest

How clean water data is helping to protect Brazil’s precious ecosystems

Ambition is good; action is better: Making progress on our climate commitments

Lucas Joppa - Chief Environmental Officer

How AI is helping track endangered species

Charlotte Edmond

Accessibility View more

‘We are at a crossroads’ – How Microsoft’s Accessibility team is making an impact that will be felt for generations

7 smart tech developments for people who are blind or have low vision

The power of inclusion, extending our learnings from the Supported Employment Program

Jenny Lay-Flurrie - Chief Accessibility Officer

Privacy View more

GDPR’s first anniversary: A year of progress in privacy protection

Julie Brill - Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Microsoft

Facial recognition: It’s time for action

Brad Smith - PresidentPresident

A call for principle-based international agreements to govern law enforcement access to data

Brad Smith - PresidentPresident

Rural Broadband View more

What telephones and television can teach us about the adoption of broadband

Closing the rural broadband gap is an urgent national crisis

Shelley McKinley - Head of Technology and Corporate Responsibility, Microsoft

What you need to know about broadband access and unemployment in one chart

Microsoft On The Issues

AI for Good View more

How AI is changing arts and culture

How AI can help save lives in emergencies

How TrialWatch and other technology can help navigate the legal system

More from On the Issues

Tools and Weapons

The history and evolution of data storage and organization

Drone view of Arctic ice sheet

How AI is helping unlock information about melting glaciers

Tools and Weapons

Questions for your book club discussion of ‘Tools and Weapons: The Promise and the Peril of the Digital Age’

Here’s how AI is helping secure water for your future

Rural Broadband

How unused TV frequencies can connect rural areas to the digital world

Washington State

‘People everywhere are thinking big. Why not us?’ – Brad Smith on the region Microsoft calls home

5 times Hollywood has taken on AI

Washington State

The big ideas driving the Cascadia Innovation Corridor

Using iNaturalist app to identify a flower

How AI for Earth is inspiring new generations to help the planet

Tools and Weapons

What people are saying about the new book ‘Tools and Weapons’

Tools and Weapons

Today in Technology: Lessons through time

Computer hacker cyberattack

‘Sneakers’ and other hacker movies with an echo of truth

How AI is letting scientists listen in on animal chatter

Washington State

These innovations are driving collaboration in the Cascadia region

Washington State

The stories behind Microsoft’s affordable housing initiative

Today in Technology

From Apollo to ESO: Exploring the Universe, Celebrating a Spirit of Discovery

How AI is changing the world of manufacturing

Photo illustration of FarmBeats in field

How AI could boost GDP and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Woman using computer in rural area

Rural Broadband

How TV white space is helping bridge the digital divide

Students working on laptops and other devices

5 facts that show how we treat one another online

satellite data map

How AI and satellites are used to combat illegal fishing

elephants in the wild

How AI is helping elephants, orcas and 3 more species

a team of students sit around a laptop

Washington State

A baby monitor for chickens and other projects solving real-world problems

Washington State

7 places where high-speed rail is having an impact

How scientists are confronting environmental challenges with the help of AI

Aerial View of Shedd Aquarium

Noise-cancelling headphones, smart glasses: how technology is making museums more accessible

man in a wheelchair uses accessibility gaming device

5 ways technology is changing how people with disabilities experience the world

collage of on the issues images

Today in Technology: The Top 10 Tech Issues for 2019

Vancouver skyline

Washington State

Tech is flourishing in Vancouver. Here are 5 reasons why.

Photo of hallway with brightly lit displays and a sign at end of the hall that says Microsoft Cybercrime Center

How PhotoDNA for Video is being used to fight online child exploitation

How one nonprofit turned a golf course into a ‘no-fail’ job training program

Can sound help save a dwindling elephant population? Scientists using AI think so.

Microsoft 2014 Hackathon EyeGaze team

The Ability Hacks: The story of two hackathon teams embracing the transformative power of technology

Woman with huge smile on her face standing in the crowds in the rotunda of the Washington state Capitol building.

‘These are employees you want’: Special Olympics job fair is a win for athletes, region

Civil actions: How four simple rules can make the internet safer

A new IP strategy for a new era of shared innovation

photo of man running under a blue sky and smiling during a track workout

‘He just took off’: Elite runner looks to Special Olympics, breaking his personal marathon record

New solar deal moves us ahead of schedule in creating a cleaner cloud

El Paso, Texas downtown skyline

Microsoft TechSpark expands to Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming

Young women continue to lose interest in STEM education. Here is what we can do about it.

Daring to dream: Global Innovation Exchange crosses borders as it builds bridges to the future

How AI for Earth can be a force multiplier for sustainability solutions

Our partnership with BLUETOWN has brought internet to rural communities in Ghana, creating digital transformation in schools. Photo credit: BLUETOWN

Rural Broadband

The path to prosperity through access to high-speed internet

Defending Democracy Program

ElectionGuard available today to enable secure, verifiable voting