In Real Life with Rory Preddy—Changing the world one moment at a time

Imagine Rory Preddy’s dismay when he stepped on the scale after weight loss he wanted to celebrate—only to have it provide unwelcome feedback about his weight. In fact, he had reason to celebrate, but the scale didn’t understand the parameters of his body type.

He laughs it off, but the fact is, Rory has grown used to a world that struggles to put him in a defined bucket for everything from measuring his weight to facial recognition software to operating a mobile phone. As he puts it, “my life is a hilarious roller coaster of unintended programming bugs because I fall off your radar at 4 feet tall and 50 kilograms.”  

Rory’s mission is to help others not have to board the rollercoaster.  

A passionate advocate for inclusivity, Rory is actively involved in driving inclusive design at Microsoft, which is becoming even more accessible with the cognitive services available from Azure OpenAI. In addition to using it himself, he teaches others how to use GitHub Copilot to make webpages more accessible by providing suggestions and guidance as you work.

Watch my interview with Rory to learn more about why creating inclusive environments is so important to him.  

To design products that meet the needs of both traditionally abled, differently abled, and disabled individuals, Rory’s team empowers people using Microsoft software to dynamically tune it to their needs. “We’re not asking you to change what you're doing, but rather we say, ‘Let's help you by giving you the power to adjust to what will work best for you—empowering you to achieve more.’” 

“Eliminating barriers to participation and creating an inclusive environment that's accessible for all people is one of the powerful opportunities in AI,” Rory said. 

A self-proclaimed “stupidly authentic” individual (his words, not mine!), Rory is breaking down barriers by doing something many of us struggle to do—being himself. He brings his full, magnificent, unguarded self to everything he does, from his day-to-day work to speeches and events, to interactions with customers and partners.  

“My authenticity is my empowerment. And it's something that allows me to invest in myself and our customers to make sure that they can get the most from our products and services—and learn from me as I learn from them.” 

When I asked him how he hopes to be remembered, Rory said, “I hope to inspire others to choose to focus on ‘moments.’ Those moments that are fundamental to yourself and to others so that you can look back at them and say that you weren't only focused on the career and the money and the goals, but there were distinct moments where you have changed your and other people's lives.” 

Rory, you’re an inspiration to us all in so many ways—and I’m quite sure you’ve had many moments of changing lives with your dedication to inclusivity. Thank you for teaching us how vital accessibility is for everyone. I look forward to seeing the impact of your advocacy and help in furthering our diversity and inclusion and initiatives across Microsoft and all the communities we serve. 

If you want to learn more about Rory and his work, follow him on X or connect on GitHub.