John Langford has left Microsoft and closed AI Frontiers

Renowned researcher John Langford has left Microsoft. At the same time, the AI Frontiers division has been officially disbanded.

The researcher cited the lack of real prospects for implementing scientific developments into practice as the main reason for his departure. According to him, the leadership of Microsoft AI has made a hard pivot toward extensive scaling of existing systems at the expense of fundamental scientific research.

The AI Frontiers division was engaged in advanced research in machine learning and artificial intelligence. The decision to close it and the departure of the key specialist were covered on the Hacker News platform.

The situation reflects a general trend in large technology corporations, where long-term academic projects are giving way to commercialization and the immediate expansion of computing power for product lines.