WHY IT MATTERS: Digital Transformation

WHY IT MATTERS: face recognition using AI has been around for a few years. It used to require large computers in the cloud. Not anymore. This changes everything.

1) privacy: it will become more and more difficult to protect your privacy in the future. I have written about this before, specifically when the Google glasses came out 3 years ago. It is a concept that is interpreted differently in countries and cultures - such as China vs USA.

2) China: is investing heavily to win the AI war with the US. So we should expect every product - from glasses to door bells to cell phones to cars - to have face recognition built into the device in the very near future. At the CES2018 show, I saw a number of companies that offer face recognition chips ready to be embedded at low price into any consumer device. So it *will* happen. More on China in a later post...

3) protection: people will naturally want to protect themselves. We should start to see face masks that are designed to fool face recognition hardware as has been shown to be possible recently.

More reading:

- google glasses face recognition: http://fmcs.digital/blog/kodak-cameras-banned-in-the-1880s-over-loss-of/ 

- CES security cameras: http://plus.lapresse.ca/screens/9ee3fba2-dd87-42c4-ae7c-b2478b752ec3%7C_0.html (in french)

- fooling face recognition: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/ne43pz/ai-fooling-glasses-could-be-good-enough-to-trick-facial-recognition-at-airports 

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

Tata Consulting CTO Franck Diana consistently raises interesting trends and forecasts. here, I find useful his mapping of well-being to innovation (mostly technological innovations that fall in the digital transformation/disruption world). I plan to reuse this grid in my work and analysis.

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

The ultimate test for a machine to determine if it is human is the Turing test where a computer can hold a conversation and you cannot tell whether it is a human or a machine behind the screen. These apps are bringing us closer to that possibility...

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

This is an annual bag of goodies.

Highlight #1: retail stores are closing at record pace while Amazon opens stores. This is such a huge trend because it transforms stores from a mini-warehouse into something else: a destination for experience, service, and training. Think Apple store with the highest sales per square foot, genius bar, classes and a showroom. Amazon has pushed its Amazon GO, no lines, no registers concept and it is rolling it out slowly. This is just the beginning...

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

As I wrote recently in the "Pyramid of Digital Needs" (fmcs.digital/blog/pyramid-of-digital-needs/), security is one of the most basic needs. When we don't feel secure and private then it is difficult to enjoy the benefits of social networks and all the other tools that digital now provides. It is essential that corporations address security and privacy in a meaningful way in order for their clients, employees and partners to use their new digital tools and embrace the digital transformation that most enterprises have recently embarked on.

Also worth reading from Pew Research:

• Perceptions of privacy & security: http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/11/12/public-privacy-perceptions/
• Americans and cybersecurity: http://www.pewinternet.org/2017/01/26/americans-and-cybersecurity/ 
• Privacy & information sharing: http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/01/14/privacy-and-information-sharing/ 
• Privacy in the digital Age: http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/06/03/privacy-in-the-digital-age/
• and many more on the Privacy and safety topic: http://www.pewinternet.org/topics/privacy-and-safety/ 

Mozilla has always been promoting Internet security and privacy and this new report paves the way for a very interesting ongoing look at key elements of the public Internet.

This is a new concept that I have been thinking about for a few year and that may help explain why some persons are not ready to have a Facebook account or share on social networks.

Perfect Sunday morning reading which is guaranteed to make you reflect and ponder for the next weeks. The article is a typical New Yorker one, very well researched and written. So captivating that it got me to start reading the book which appears to be as captivating and surprisingly easy to read and understand. I love those finds and have the feeling this book will be the best complement to "Singularity is Near" and "On Intelligence" that I wrote about in the past.

- book "singularity is near": http://fmcs.digital/blog/singularity-is-near-an-essential-read-to-understand-why-technology-evolves-so-fast/ 

- book "on intelligence": http://fmcs.digital/blog/on-intelligence-mustread-to-understand-frontal-cortex-architecture-what-makes-us-intelligent/ 

- article "Why the future does not need us": http://fmcs.digital/blog/why-the-future-doesnt-need-us-a-reminder-that-ai-may-have-a-bad-side-via-wired/ 

- related posts: http://www.scoop.it/t/digital-transformation-of-businesses/?tag=Singularity+is+Near 

Babies are inherently fragile and require attention. It is natural for parents to want to monitor and stay connected with them. Technology is the most natural way to provide solutions for parents that increasingly want to stay connected even when they are away. This has become a huge area for developments and improvements, as evidenced by the large number of startups at CES this year. Must watch for the future.

Also read in french: 

CES la mdoe du tout connecté pour bébés au CES 2017

http://www.lapresse.ca/techno/201701/09/01-5057758-ces-la-mode-du-tout-connecte-pour-bebe.php 

A study of 250K people over 2011-2015 timeframe across 33 countries in OECD shows that most users can barely operate their computer of mobile phone.

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

Digital transformation strategies and roadmap often fail to allocate sufficient effort/budget/time/resources to accompany employees and users with the proper change management. This study shows why: most people don't know how to perform simple computer tasks. Put them in front of a new software or technology and they will fail, or even worse, they will discredit the solution so as not to show their inability. Accompany them and recognize that they need help and they will succeed in their transition. And you will succeed in your digital transformation.

An interesting overview of the impact that social media, Facebook in particular may have had in the elections. Not sure if that is the case but for sure the world of media has evolved tremendously.