By Julie Bergeron
John Langford, research partner at Microsoft Research New York, has left Microsoft.
He declared the end of the AI Frontiers group, according to Digg, who summarized an article on his blog, Machine Learning (Theory). Langford announced this post on social media on November 6.
The group numbered around 50 people. He moved from Microsoft Research to Microsoft AI in early September.
Langford wrote that he found places for his team members as best he could before leaving, Digg reported.
His account does not detail the formal status of the group or where the rest of the personnel were assigned.
What the frontiers of AI have built
Langford wrote that he and his colleagues created AI Frontiers within Microsoft Research in 2023. They wanted more organized research after ChatGPT was released.
Much of the group’s work has focused on making AI agents work reliably.
The projects he named include Autogen, a framework for coordination agents. Another is Fara, an agent who operates a computer to perform tasks.
Shunyatax also described some researchers in the group exploring ways to improve the models without simply making them bigger.
Scaling and Search
Langford described Microsoft AI’s leadership philosophy as focused on scaling rather than research, Digg reported. He said the environment was primarily focused on obtaining, creating and refining data.
He conceded the business logic. According to him, returns to scale are more predictable than returns to research. Still, he called a scaling-only approach misguided and unpalatable, Digg reported.
These are his judgments. They relate to the unit his group has joined, not company-wide policy.
Shunyatax said Langford’s position was not that scaling should stop. According to him, large-scale research and basic research should go hand in hand.
No path to use
Langford wrote that he couldn’t get the innovations to be used, or even seriously considered, while working in Microsoft AI. A return to Microsoft Research held little appeal.
He also doubted whether the research would be useful from there.
Langford wrote, in an article summarized by Digg, that he is uncomfortable in a business where his research has no path to real use.
He added that there will be no internships within the group in the coming year. He wished good luck to the colleagues he leaves behind, according to Digg.
His profile on the research platform alphaxiv lists him as a founding member of Microsoft Research New York. It also names him as co-creator of the Vowpal Wabbit machine learning library.
A 2023 Test of Time award at the Web Conference recognized his contextual bandit paper on personalized news recommendation. The article describes algorithms that learn which article to show to a reader.
Other departures from Microsoft
Shunyatax placed the AI Frontiers news alongside other management changes at Microsoft.
It cited the planned departure of former LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky from his later responsibilities within the Office and Teams divisions.
He also cited former AI platform head Eric Boyd’s move to Anthropic.
The link is not proven. Shunyatax said the documents do not establish that these changes resulted from disagreements over search strategy, or that they were related to Langford’s departure.
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