Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. (GeekWire File Photo)
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced Microsoft’s new AI engineering division in an internal email this week. Photo: GeekWire.

This week on the GeekWire radio show and podcast, we kick things off with a look into Microsoft’s huge new move into artificial intelligence, including the tech giant’s 5,000 person AI engineering division established this week.

GeekWire reporter Taylor Soper, just back from the Microsoft Ignite business technology conference in Atlanta, joins us to discuss Microsoft’s position as it enters the competitive AI field, facing off against Seattle-based teams at Apple and Amazon.

We also get a peek behind the scenes at the sixth annual GeekGirlCon, a conference “celebrating the female geek” and all forms of diversity in science, tech, and geekdom.

Kristen Lehua, GeekGirlCon's marketing director. Photo: GeekWire.
Kristen Lehua, GeekGirlCon’s marketing director. Photo: GeekWire.

Kristen Lehua, the con’s marketing director, joins us to talk about the GeekGirl Con’s evolution, what sets it apart from other conferences, and the goodies in store at this year’s event. This year’s con takes place Oct. 8 and 9, and is open to all ages and gender identities.

We also get a special report on Elon Musk’s visionary plan to put a million people on Mars in the next century. GeekWire Space and Science editor, Alan Boyle, calls in from the International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, to explain Musk’s plan and give his take on its feasibility, as well as how it measures up to Jeff Bezos’ plan for Blue Origin.

Plus, learn about our app of the week, and check out the latest GeekWire Trivia Challenge for a chance to win tickets to the Seattle Symphony’s The Composer is Dead, a wacky murder mystery concert with text by Lemony Snicket.

Listen to the show above, or download the MP3 here.

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