Stephen Ibaraki awarded Microsoft MVP AI for 2020-2021

Microsoft announced on 1 July 2020 that Stephen Ibaraki has once again been awarded an MVP, Microsoft MVP AI for 2020-2021. Stephen has more than 300 “lifetime and career” achievements and awards for disruptive innovation, futuristic investments, successful entrepreneurship, and global technology leadership, as exemplified by 18 global Microsoft Awards including 15 Microsoft MVP Awards. “It is with great pride we announce that Stephen Ibaraki has been awarded as a Microsoft® Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for 7/1/2020 – 7/1/2021. The Microsoft MVP Award is an annual award that recognizes exceptional technology community leaders worldwide who actively share their high quality, real-world expertise with users and Microsoft. All of us at Microsoft recognize and appreciate Stephen’s extraordinary contributions and want to take this opportunity to share our appreciation with you.”  Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, “We recognize and value your exceptional contributions and commitment to technical communities worldwide. By sharing your real-world expertise and technical skills, you demonstrate outstanding technical community leadership. Thank you.”

Ibaraki’s journey in multiple innovations in technology including AI started at 10 years of age. This is noted when he was the only one ever— awarded for IT Leadership—Lifetime Achievement from thousands of nominations from government, industry, academia, media, and non-profits.

The AI and Technology innovations continued when he received the lifetime achievement Advanced Technology Award for Leadership in Information Technology. Noted by Premier Campbell “you have distinguished yourself in your field of endeavour promoting pioneering efforts in technology and this award will recognize your considerable contributions with respect to the applications and adaptations of advanced technology to new uses. I commend you for your many achievements and thank you for your commitment to industry excellence.”

He also in the 1980s, created for Atomic Energy of Canada, the world’s first microcomputer-based enterprise system, first network system, with AI embedded (the world’s first application of AI in the nuclear industry) – at that time Canada had nearly 80% world market share.

The work continued when Ibaraki was the founding chair for the CEO-summit technology advisory council for financial services CEOs with US$90+ trillion in assets under management, where he talked extensively about AI and profiled in this IT World article. This continued in 2019 as reported in this Forbes article.

Stephen was the first one to introduce AI to the UN and to address the UN General Assembly reported in news and in UN News. Stephen founded AI for Good, contributing full-time, which is the largest global movement on AI solutions supporting the UN SDGs. AI for Good is adopted by governments, industry, and academia with a billion plus audience. Related to this, Stephen was a founding host and moderator for the AI Forum at the World Internet Conference. To build global support for AI for Good, Stephen organized sessions and spoke at ITU conferences and briefed the United Nations in New York. Examples include, the ITU World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly held every 4 years—2016 video. At ITU Telecom World annual flagship conference—2017 video. At AI for Good in 2018 and 2019.

Other AI initiatives include on the founding steering committee for AI Pioneers of invited 300 CxOs. The list continues with firsts in AI.

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Stephen is a Vice-Chair of IFIP IP3 responsible for Strategic Relations.  For more about Stephen https://www.linkedin.com/in/sibaraki/

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