Loutfi Belghmidi
PR & Comms Lead
Imagine a friend tells you about an interesting topic he heard on the well-known Nerdland podcast discussing the potential of investigating gravity waves to learn about the origin of the universe or the 13-year emergence of the North American cicada. Intrigued, you want to listen to it but don’t know which episode features this segment. Or maybe you don’t speak Dutch and are locked out of all the intriguing and mind-blowing science news the Nerdland team has discussed about over the last years.
“The development of this project has afforded me the unique chance to transform state-of-the-art technology into tangible benefits for the user. Having been an avid listener of the Nerdland podcast for several years, it’s immensely gratifying to now enable enhanced search capabilities within this extensive and informative content repository.” Ewoud Smets, Senior Technical Specialist
A young group at Microsoft BeLux decided to take on the challenge to create a Nerdland AI Assistant, leveraging the capabilities of Microsoft Azure and generative AI, resulting in a ready-to-use, user-friendly assistant, available for all podcast listeners.
With Azure OpenAI under the hood, the Nerdland Assistant answers any question you have about the discussed topics in any language you want.
Navigating the complexities of data, especially within audio files, can be a significant challenge due to the lack of ready-made solutions. The team at Microsoft leveraged Azure services including advanced AI models like GPT-4o. We enhanced the Nerdland AI Assistant with a technique called Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). This allowed us to bring valuable context to the Assistant by incorporating the show transcripts, show notes, timestamps, podcast titles, topics, sponsors, release dates, and more to effectively ground the model in podcast data.
“As a Nerdland listener for years now, bringing together my professional skills and personal interest was super cool. I learned a lot around implementing LLMs, AI, vector databases, … And I mainly learned that there is soooo much more to learn. Looking forward to explore even more.” Arne De Proft, Technical Specialist:
For audio-to-text conversion, we utilized Azure’s speech-to-text services, ensuring accurate and efficient transcription. Furthermore, we adhered to the highest standards of security and AI responsibility by incorporating amongst others Azure Responsible AI features, ensuring the data is handled with the utmost care and integrity.
“This project enabled me to enjoy a deep dive into the full capabilities of Azure AI Search, a service I now know by heart! This experience also showcased how much we can learn from one another in a team with different backgrounds and expertise.” Nico Grassetto, Technical Specialist Intern:
Give it a try! Check out our custom Nerdland AI Assistant here.
Check out the Technical blog here
Feeling inspired? At Microsoft, we’re continually searching for new talent to strengthen our team.
At Microsoft BeLux, we pride ourselves on fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment where creativity and innovation thrive. Representing Microsoft in the heart of Europe, our Belgian team is dedicated to driving technological advancements and making a meaningful impact across numerous industries. We offer a wide range of career opportunities in Belgium, tailored to different skill sets and professional aspirations, spanning from AI and cybersecurity, to account management. So whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting your career, Microsoft Belgium provides the platform to grow, learn, and contribute to cutting-edge projects that shape the future.
Embrace flexible working arrangements tailored to your needs, whether in-office, remote, or hybrid. Join us at Microsoft, where your career will flourish amidst a culture of excellence and opportunity. Discover the endless possibilities awaiting you at Microsoft Careers
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