John Kahan, left, and Juan Lavista Ferres look over some of the sudden infant death syndrome-related correlations generated by a research tool developed by Microsoft volunteers. Photo by Scott Eklund/Red Box Pictures. Photo credit: Microsoft.

Microsoft announced a new AI initiative this week—and a new legal team position to go with it.

The Redmond, Washington-based tech company's longtime customer data and analytics general manager John Kahan will head up its new ”AI for Humanitarian Action” initiative, Microsoft chief legal officer Brad Smith announced in a blog post Monday.

The five-year, $40 million Microsoft initiative aims to use artificial intelligence to better anticipate humanitarian crises, improve the response efforts that follow them, including the protection of refugees and the promotion of human rights, and to better the lives of children worldwide.

Smith said that Kahan, who has been appointed the chief data analytics officer for Microsoft's corporate, external and legal affairs, will report directly to him. In his new role, Kahan will use insights and data science to confront difficult global challenges.

“For over 15 years, John has been one of the key leaders driving Microsoft's big data strategy and work,” Smith said in a blog post Monday. “He has over 33 years of experience driving large-scale data and world-class data science teams. I could not be more excited about the future contributions this team has the opportunity to pursue.”

In addition to his data expertise, Kahan has been involved in data-driven efforts to find a root cause for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) for years, following the death of his infant son.

Last year, Microsoft data scientists inspired by Kahan's family story donated a SIDS research tool to Seattle Children's Research Institute. Microsoft has continued to collaborate with the hospital's Integrative Brain Research Institute, using AI and data to help identify the cause of SIDS and, hopefully, find a prevention or cure. In Kahan's new role, he'll help oversee this work.

“I feel better mentally and physically than I've felt in my entire life,” Kahan said in a Microsoft press feature last year. “It's because I'm on a personal mission for something that I actually think that we can solve. I really believe because of all the work we're doing that this will be solved. It may take a year, two years, five years—but we will chip away at this thing, one piece at a time.”