The Future of Meetings Could Include Facial Recognition and AI

Microsoft has plans to make the office meeting of the future run much differently. 

The company showcased a new technology prototype at its 2018 Build Developers Conference that uses facial and audio recognition combined with artificial intelligence to act as the ultimate stenographer.

The device recognizes employees as they walk into a conference room and microphones capture audio of the meeting as it takes place, and AI tools then transcribe everything being said in real time. The AI is even able to learn about team members' speech patterns over time to improve transcription accuracy, according to Mashable.

This isn't a stand-alone device, either. Instead, it can plug into other Microsoft services, such as their group chat app, Teams, so that all meeting information is available to colleagues and managers.

If you have a meeting between people who speak different languages, the device can provide translations. There's also an accessibility tool, which helps those with hearing loss better participate in the meeting.

While this device prove incredibly useful for organizations, it might be concerning for employees to have a device tracking everything they say in a meeting and then reporting it to higher-ups. Don't worry about holding back during your upcoming conference call just yet, though. This device is only a prototype—for now.