Next-Gen Cortana Assistant Could Come to Windows

News
By Kevin Parrish
published

Microsoft is looking for someone to work on the next-gen Cortana.

CNET spotted a job listing on Microsoft's Careers site that's looking for a software development engineer to help develop the next generation of Microsoft's Digital Assistant, Cortana. This person will be a part of the Cortana team, and will help "redefine the personalization experience on Windows" and "push the frontier."

"You can help create serendipitous moments of discovery and satisfaction for the users and enable signature experiences that make Windows your indispensable companion in the real world," the job description reads. "We also own the search experience, which is one of the premier and most used experiences in Windows. As part of this job you will get significant exposure and opportunities to work on NUI related experiences, use of Web technologies, Services integration and work on hard system problems."

Read more: How Microsoft Cortana Improves Upon Siri and Google Now

Microsoft is looking for an individual with three or more years of professional software development experience, and two years of experience with C++ or related technologies. Candidates must also have experience with HTML, XAML and other UI frameworks, and experience with performance tuning and tools. Candidates will also need a BA/BS in Computer Science, Math, EE, or "equivalent industry experience."

The first-generation Bing-powered Cortana is part of Windows Phone 8.1, which rolls out as an update to consumers with existing handsets next month, and installed on new Windows-based phones starting this month. Cortana is named after the fictional artificial intelligence (AI) character in the Halo series of games. The voice actress who breathed life into Cortana, Jen Taylor, also provides her voice in the smartphone version.  

"Rather than just performing voice-activated commands, Cortana continually learns about its user and becomes increasingly personalized, with the goal of proactively carrying out the right tasks at the right time. If its user asks about outside temperatures every afternoon before leaving the office, Cortana will learn to offer that information without being asked," reads a Microsoft Research blog posted in April.

Now imagine that kind of interaction in a desktop-type scenario. For additional information about the Cortana-based job listing, head here. The listing provides additional requirements that were not provided here.

Kevin Parrish
12 Comments Comment from the forums
  • tomfreak
    if they come to Desktop windows, I wish she is 10 times smarter using our powerful CPU for AI.
    Reply
  • CaedenV
    Could? At build they all but said that it is coming to Windows and Xbox, and may go so far as to offer plugins for Bing to make it available on other platforms down the line. Cortana is pretty good for Windows Phone, and every few weeks the voice is more and more like Jen Taylor's which is awesome. The voice recognition (which was already well ahead of iOS and Android) is much improved over WP8's stock offering, even when on less than ideal situations (like in a car using a headset). By the time this thing is out of beta and is on multiple platforms it is going to be the best option available by far... and this from a person who generally dislikes voice commands and clunky digital assistants.

    Cortana is no Clippy.
    Reply
  • JOSHSKORN
    Maybe Intel will now get a move on adding more cores. We'll need it with something like this always running in the background and multi-tasking.
    Reply
  • ohim
    I don`t own an iphone, so no siri for me, but i never felt the need to talk to my galaxy phone to do something for me... so.. i don`t get it, why do people feel the need to talk to their devices to do stuff ?
    Reply
  • godnodog
    "We also own the search experience, which is one of the premier and most used experiences in Windows."

    What? I $%&%%$% hate the search system in Windows. Can´t find my stuff. I had to install other solutions and now I find my stuff.
    Reply
  • tomfreak
    I don`t own an iphone, so no siri for me, but i never felt the need to talk to my galaxy phone to do something for me... so.. i don`t get it, why do people feel the need to talk to their devices to do stuff ?
    because if the voice is accurate enough, it is faster to get the specific task finish than going through a few UI hoops to get what u want the phone to do it for u?

    Hell... if this thing come to desktop, I might be able to eat noodles with my both hands while operating my computer from distance. XD
    Reply
  • back_by_demand
    if they come to Desktop windows, I wish she is 10 times smarter using our powerful CPU for AI.
    If she come to Desktop Windows she shouldn't use your CPU at all, she should pipe your command to the Cloud where a vast server farm with do huge AI and then feed the results back to you
    Reply
  • Menigmand
    The problem with all these things is that they don't work well enough to be actually useful. Siri, Kinect, Wii, you name it. Good luck getting your assistant of choice to play some jazz with "John Coal Train".
    Reply
  • Yaldenski
    Actually, Cortana understands me perfectly when I say: "Cortana, play John Coltrane" and English is not even my first language (I have a slight accent).
    Reply
  • photonboy
    Cortona won't be very "smart" at all. It will make predictive guesses and other functions. Nor will it perform better on different platforms as the computing power to do these tasks is insignificant.
    Reply