- Microsoft’s head of AI and Research Harry Shum is stepping down from the company in February
Harry Shum, the head of Microsoft’s AI and Research group, is going to be stepping down from the company in February 2020 after working at Microsoft for 23 years. Going forward, Shum’s responsibilities will be handled by Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott. These responsibilities include handling the company’s artificial intelligence strategy along with infrastructure R&D, and AI-focused product groups. Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet broke the story.
“Harry has had a profound impact on Microsoft,” said Nadella in a statement. “His contributions in the fields of computer science and AI leave a legacy and a strong foundation for future innovation.”
Shum was instrumental in taking Microsoft’s development of cutting-edge artificial intelligence research and offering them as commercial products. It is unknown what Shum will be doing next, but a Microsoft spokesperson said that he will continue advising Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and co-founder Bill Gates after he leaves the company.
Shum originally joined Microsoft Research in 1996 as a researcher based out of Redmond, Washington. And then he moved to Beijing, China in 1998 to set up Microsoft Research Asia. From there, he became a managing director and distinguished engineer. Between 2007 and 2013, Shum oversaw the product development of the Bing search engine.
Microsoft launched the AI and Research division in September 2016. This division integrated artificial intelligence technologies into Bing, Cortana, Azure, and other hardware products.
Shum also oversaw the launch of new groups at Microsoft focused specifically on artificial intelligence such as the AI Cognitive Services and Platform and the AI Perception and Mixed Reality group.
Scott has been the chief technology officer at Microsoft since 2017. And he arrived at the company through the acquisition of LinkedIn. At LinkedIn, Scott was the SVP of engineering and operations.
Featured credit: Harry Shum
