Asha Sharma, the new CEO of Microsoft’s gaming and Xbox business, believes that AI is a good solution to the problem of declining fertility rates. As early as August 2025, Asha Sharma, then product president of Microsoft's core AI division and now CEO of Microsoft's gaming and Xbox business, shared her vision for AI in an interview.
She believes that the value of AI is not only about improving production efficiency and promoting business changes, but also playing a key role in addressing one of the most serious demographic challenges today - the continued decline in fertility rates.
When asked about the core driving force of his work, Sharma emphasized that joining a highly influential technology field such as AI means shouldering corresponding responsibilities. She said: "In this era of being able to work with such powerful technology, what I personally think about the most is the impact this technology will have, and how I can do my best to build a platform that allows everyone to use it."
Talking about the population development trend, Sharma said: "I even wonder, will my son still have classmates in the future? The root cause is that the fertility rate is declining, isn't it?" She pointed out, "In the 1990s when we were growing up, the average fertility rate was about 3, and now it has dropped to 2.3. It is expected that by 2050, this number will fall below the population replacement level."
Sharma does not see AI as a disruptive force that will replace humans, but rather as a tool that can help reverse this demographic trend. She gave an example of a hospital in London that "uses AI to match eggs and sperm, which not only improves the success rate of conception, but also reduces treatment costs." She believes that such technological breakthroughs are enough to prove that AI can expand the accessibility of fertility treatments and improve the effectiveness of treatments.
Now, Sharma has officially taken over as CEO of Microsoft Gaming, succeeding Phil Spencer. In her new role, she will take overall charge of Microsoft's Xbox and gaming businesses and reiterate its core commitment to focusing on console gamers. Spencer has been in charge of the Xbox division since 2014 and became CEO of Microsoft Games in 2022. He has officially announced his retirement.
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