More than six thousand software developers are in Seattle to attend Microsoft's biggest conference of the year - Microsoft Build. Company CEO Satya Nadella laid out the roadmap for Microsoft's future, while also bringing up a few surprises. Reporter Mark Niu has more from the event in Seattle.

CEO Satya Nadella kicked off Microsoft with an admission that this is not the same old Microsoft.

SATYA NADELLA CEO, MICROSOFT "This morning I got up, I was reading the news and I hear Bill Gates is talking about stock. And he's talking about the Apple stock and say wow. In the 30 years that at least I've known Bill I've never seen him talk about stock. But today must be a new day for sure."

CHRIS CAPOSSELA CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, MICROSOFT "This has been a wonderful culture change at Microsoft since Satya became our CEO, where he's really ushered in this notion of embracing the platforms that exist on the planet. We make more applications for iOS than any other software company on the planet, whether it's Outlook, Word, Machine Translation. You name it. We build more apps for Apple and Android than just about anyone else."

And Microsoft revealed that they are reaching across the aisle to their in-state rival Amazon, whose senior vice president Tom Taylor, appeared on stage. Microsoft's personal assistant Cortana can now open Amazon's Alexa. And Alexa can now open Cortana. Are we headed for a future where virtual assistants have direct conversations with each other out in the open?

CHRIS CAPOSSELA CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, MICROSOFT "Never say never. We're not there yet. We're just starting this integration between Alexa and Cortana. But that's certainly something you could see happening."

MARK NIU SEATTLE "But at the heart of almost everything Microsoft unveiled or discussed today - were artificial intelligence and its cloud-based technology known as the intelligent-edge. In a current climate rife with public distrust over data collection and monitoring, Nadella called privacy a human right and emphasized the need for ethical AI."

SATYA NADELLA CEO, MICROSOFT "We need to ask ourselves not only what computers can do but what computers should do. That time has come. We have formed an ethics board inside the company which is a very diverse group of people who govern the products we build. We need good AI."

Microsoft announced a 25-million dollar program aimed at using AI to amplify human capabilities in people with disabilities. It also showed how the power of AI can be combined with drones to identify abnormalities in say for example pipelines and potentially save companies millions of dollars.

For the board room, Microsoft also tried to show how their latest technology could shake the Orwellian stigma and instead help people be more productive. Everyone that enters the room is immediately identified. Everything said is transcribed. It can recognize who is talking and even simultaneously translate the conversation to other languages like Chinese, something Microsoft claims is already on par with human abilities. Mark Niu, CGTN, Seattle.