The IT Toolbox #004 - Definitions #2

AI is not AI

AI is a marketing buzz word (ok it's an acronym (or even an Initialism), but bear with me)

Definitions of AI I've personally witnessed

     AI is stealing jobs (well, boring, repetitive, mind-numbing jobs)
     AI is Machine Learning (it can/could be, but mostly isn't...yet)
     AI is data processing (so is paper shuffling)
     AI is a Virtual Agent (actually partially true, at least the native language parts)
     AI is The Terminator (nope, that's a Movie, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and on my must                                                  watch list)
     AI is Analytics (sorry, Analytics is Analytics, representations and uses of data)
     AI is a self driving car (hopeful a self driving car is more than AI, wishing for seats, engine, etc)
     AI is Deep Learning (might be true, how supervised is the learning?)
     AI is self service (well, ok.  Gives supermarket self checkout a new meaning.)
     AI is Robotic Process Automation (not so much as a set of response triggers, but bits could be)

If you’d like to read a thoughtful description of Artificial Intelligence, have a look at this Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence  (15 pages and 375 references, AND 18 disambiguation references)

So, if you're talking about Artificial Intelligence (AI), consider refining your definition and talking points to if there is (or is not) a neural network being trained in support of the mymicing of "cognitive" functions.

If not, call it what it really is rather what someone is marketing.

It's about the data

A friend of mine recently asked me what my thoughts were around connected home/small business.  He's kindly agreed to sharing the response.
...

In my humble opinion, it's all just verticals until something comes along to unify things and make life simpler.

It is about the Platform today.  In the future it will be about how we act on the data we have.  This will most likely shift to AI in some IoT fashion.

At the moment, I think we're are approaching a Wardly WAR stage with quite a lot of the capabilities moving from custom into product. http://blog.gardeviance.org/2015/02/on-evolution-disruption-and-pace-of.html

It's pre-industrialization of the capabilities that actually prove themselves both useful and offset either a cost, a time pressure or a labor effort that typically seem to win.

It'll almost always be about situational awareness though. A person will eventually see the thing that stands to make a serious and significant change that takes hold of one of the ecoystems and gives it a big push.

That's almost always an abstraction of the capability. I took a wild swing at one of the computing areas as an example. The abstraction of programming I called "codeless programming" that uses visual context rather than programming languages to build applications. It's the next step past "serverless" where inputs are tied to outputs by people not necessarily programming any of the intermediary application chains. http://www.abusedbits.com/2017/04/codeless-programming.html

Zuckerberg is running an experiment along these lines with his integration of capabilities using an AI.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvimBPJ3XGQ 

Thing is, getting everything to work together is ridiculously complex. Either commonality in method for integration or something that can manage the complexity is required before this is anything other than a really expensive and time consuming hobby. And then there's the data capture....

My brother has a sensor network that he literally built into his house to record a variety of data. The first dimension value of that data was to have it and be able to view it. The second dimension value of that data is to macroscopically act on it, like integrated thermostat control based on conditions and presets. The third dimension value would be to have similar information from 1500 houses and use it to design houses better, as an example.

In each one of the industries you are thinking of, the third dimension values far outweigh the two below it, but getting the data AND being able to act on it is ... difficult. The connected home products are about the only way to get at that data.

What does Watson think about you

http://gwen-systemu.mybluemix.net/ 

Follow the link, free and no registration (though, they will get your twitter handle out of the deal).

     Choose Content type Radio Button "Twitter"

     Enter your twitter name.

     Select Search (It'll find your tweets automagically)

     Press Analyze and await the results.

Figure 1.  Watson inputs to Personality Insights

Here's what Watson said about me:  (guess Watson didn't see my cartoon blog)

Your Personality*

You are shrewd and unconventional.

You are philosophical: you are open to and intrigued by new ideas and love to explore them. You are authority-challenging: you prefer to challenge authority and traditional values to help bring about positive changes. And you are solemn: you are generally serious and do not joke much.

Your choices are driven by a desire for discovery.

You are relatively unconcerned with both tradition and taking pleasure in life. You care more about making your own path than following what others have done. And you prefer activities with a purpose greater than just personal enjoyment.

*Compared to most people who participated in our surveys.