Windows ML: Microsoft’s planned built-in AI platform for developers in Windows 10

Microsoft unveils plans to introduce more artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities inside Windows 10. The next major Windows 10 update will now include a new AI platform, Windows ML.

The new platform will enable developers to build machine-learning models, trained in Azure, right into their apps using Visual Studio and run them on their PCs.

Here are a few noteworthy features:

• Windows ML has an abstraction layer at its core that can automatically optimize an application’s ML model for the underlying hardware.
• It adapts itself to every machine. So for example, if your computer includes a graphics card that supports Microsoft’s DirectX framework, Windows ML can use the software’s performance boosting features to enhance response times. On a less sophisticated machine, it might simply run AI models on the CPU.
• Developers can also import existing learning models from different AI platforms and run them locally on PCs and devices running on Windows 10.

Microsoft researchers point out 3 benefits of using the Windows ML AI platform:

• Low latency, real-time results. Windows can perform AI evaluation tasks using the local processing capabilities of the PC, enabling real-time analysis of large local data such as images and video.
• Reduced operational costs. Developers can build affordable, end-to-end AI solutions that combine training models in Azure with deployment to Windows devices for evaluation.
• Flexibility. Developers can choose to perform AI tasks on the device or in the cloud based on what their customers and scenarios need.

Microsoft also plans to provide support for specialized chips to power AI software. As part of the effort, the company is collaborating with Intel Corp. to make Windows ML compatible with its Movidius vision processing units.

Developers can get an early look at the AI platform on Windows with Visual Studio Preview 15.7.  For all others, the Windows ML API in standard desktops apps and Universal Windows Apps will be available across all editions of Windows 10 this year.

To read about all release features, have a look at the official Windows blog.