Microsoft launches On Second Thought series exploring AI in practice
Video series pairs futurist Sinead Bovell with Microsoft researchers to examine how artificial intelligence is reshaping science, healthcare, responsible design and the modern workplace.
Microsoft has released On Second Thought, a new video series examining how artificial intelligence is being applied in real-world settings across discovery, healthcare, responsibility and work.
The series brings together futurist Sinead Bovell and four Microsoft researchers and subject-matter experts. The conversations focus on what changes when AI moves from theory into practice, where its limits remain, and how organisations navigate trade-offs when deploying systems responsibly, the company said.
In the healthcare episode, Jonathan Carlson, vice president and managing director of Microsoft Research Health Futures, said AI can help clinicians manage the growing complexity of modern medicine by structuring and analysing vast amounts of fragmented clinical data. He said medicine often relies on averages, even though individual patients vary widely, and argued that AI can support the goal of personalised medicine by helping clinicians tailor decisions to individuals rather than populations.
Hiwot Tesfaye, technical advisor in Microsoft’s Office of Responsible AI, said effective AI design requires input from a wide range of disciplines and perspectives. She said involving linguists, social scientists, anthropologists and global users early in the design and training process helps ensure systems better reflect the diversity of people they affect.
In the context of scientific discovery, John Link, partner product manager for Microsoft Discovery, focusing on chemistry and materials science, said AI agents are increasingly working alongside researchers through the scientific method. He highlighted a recent project in which AI helped identify a new, more environmentally friendly data centre coolant molecule in fewer than 10 days, a process that would traditionally take much longer.
On the future of work, Colette Stallbaumer, general manager of the Microsoft 365 Copilot and Future of Work teams, said AI is flattening organisational hierarchies. She said companies are moving away from rigid organisational charts toward more dynamic “work charts”, where teams and roles shift based on tasks and skills rather than fixed reporting lines.
Microsoft said the first episode of On Second Thought is available now, with additional episodes scheduled for release on 29 January, 12 February and 26 February. The full series is available on Microsoft’s website.
The Recap
- Microsoft released a four-episode video series on applied AI.
- AI helped identify a new coolant molecule in less than 10 days.
- New episodes are scheduled 29 January, 12 February and 26 February.
