Microsoft Researcher John Langford Exits. AI Frontiers Group Declared Finished

Microsoft Researcher John Langford Exits as AI Frontiers Group Is Declared Finished John Langford, a partner researcher manager at Microsoft Research New York, has left Microsoft. He declared the AI Frontiers group over, according to Digg, which summarised a post on his blog, Machine Learning (Theory). Langford announced the post on social media on Nov. 6. The group had about 50 people. It was moved out of Microsoft Research and into Microsoft AI in early September. Langford wrote that he found places for his team members as well as he could before leaving, Digg reported. His account does not detail the group's formal status or where remaining staff were assigned. What AI Frontiers Built Langford wrote that he and colleagues created AI Frontiers inside Microsoft Research in 2023. They wanted more organized research after the release of ChatGPT. Much of the group's work centred on making AI agents function reliably. Projects he named include Autogen, a framework for coordinating agents. Another is Fara, an agent that operates a computer to carry out tasks. Shunyatax also described some researchers in the group as exploring ways to improve models without simply making them larger. Scaling Versus Research Langford described the leadership philosophy in Microsoft AI as focused on scaling rather than research, Digg reported. He said the environment focused mainly on getting, making and refining data. He conceded the business logic. In his assessment, returns to scale are more predictable than returns to research. Still, he called a scaling-only approach misdirected and unenjoyable, Digg reported. Those are his judgments. They concern the unit his group joined, not company-wide policy. Shunyatax reported that Langford's position was not that scaling should stop. It said he argued scaling and fundamental research should run side by side. No Route to Use Langford wrote that he could not get innovations used, or even seriously considered, while in Microsoft AI. A return to Microsoft Research held little appeal. He doubted research could reach use from there either. Langford wrote, in a post Digg summarised, that he is not comfortable being at a company where his research has no path to real use. He added that there will be no internships with the group in the coming year. He wished well to the colleagues he is leaving 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 a co-creator of the Vowpal Wabbit machine-learning library. A 2023 Test of Time Award at The Web Conference recognised his contextual-bandit paper on personalised news recommendation. The paper describes algorithms that learn which article to show a reader. Other Microsoft Departures Shunyatax placed the AI Frontiers news alongside other senior changes at Microsoft. It cited the planned departure of former LinkedIn chief executive Ryan Roslansky from his later responsibilities over the Office and Teams divisions. It also cited the move of former AI platform head Eric Boyd to Anthropic. The link is unproven. Shunyatax said the material does not establish that those changes stemmed from disagreements over research strategy, or that they are linked to Langford's exit.