This report lays out a maturity model for AI adoption in the enterprise. It outlines five stages of AI maturity based on how organizations approach business strategy, data science, product and service design, organization and culture and ethics and governance.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: AI is transformative because it can solve problems in 5 areas that were previously difficult to apply computer engineering and technologies before the advent of AI.
Retailers at the Future Stores event in Seattle had a lot to say about where they thought the future of the store is headed. Here are some of the top takeaways.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: I read and research this topic *a lot* and find this summary is capturing some of the key issues retailers face today in their digital transformation. Must read.
Think of the trends we’ve seen emerge in recent years:
Sensors and actuators, including implantables and wearables, that let us capture more data and impressions from more objects in more places, and that affect the environment around them.
Ubiquitous computing and hyperconnectivity, which exponentially increase the flow of data between people and devices and among devices themselves.
Nanotechnology and nanomaterials, which let us build ever more complex devices at microscopic scale.
Artificial intelligence, in which algorithms become increasingly capable of making decisions based on past performance and desired results.
Vision as an interface to participate in and control augmented and virtual reality
Blockchain technology, which makes all kinds of digital transactions secure, verifiable, and potentially automatic.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: the number of devices connected to the Internet will dwarf anything else we've seen since the early web and usher an era of machine-to-machine and AI infused solutions, further bridging the real-world and the digital world.
Economist Andrew McAfee suggests that, yes, probably, droids will take our jobs -- or at least the kinds of jobs we know now. In this far-seeing talk, he thinks through what future jobs might look like, and how to educate coming generations to hold them.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: it is amazing how much foresight there is in this 2013 presentation - it may explain Trump's election but what does it mean for the near future if we do not have a more social oriented society.
Google has gathered so much data, in so many areas, that it’s now crunching it together and creating features that Apple can’t make—surrounding Google Maps with a moat of time.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: Google has been capturing and translating data for a very long time and by doing so it can provide digital services that way better than anything else their competitors can do. This example of maps is just one in many but this one is particularly well documented. Kudos.
En este estudio sobre las apps de geolocalizacion como Google Maps o Apple Maps, se muestra el mayor desarrollo de la primera. Google se ha actualizado principalmente permitiendo el acceso exacto al edificio concreto de una calle. Se puede ver clickando ,encima, una descripción detallada de la ubicación con opción de encontrar imágenes del interior.
Disruptive technologies are transforming all end-to-end steps in production and business models in most sectors of the economy. The products that consumers demand, factory processes and footprints, and the management of global supply chains are being re-shaped to an unprecedented degree and at unprecedented pace. Industry leaders who were consulted believe that new technological solutions heralded by the Fourth Industrial Revolution – such as advanced robotics, autonomous systems and additive manufacturing – will revolutionize traditional ways of creating value. As the costs of deploying technology continue to fall, international differentials in labour costs will no longer be a decisive factor in choosing the location of production.
The resulting greater spatial and temporal flexibility brought about by technology will bring locations of production and sale closer together, and drive major changes in the design of future value and supply chains. These trends will change the shape and form of globalization, and thereby impact the trajectory of goods. Regional and local flows will become more important, to the detriment of intercontinental trade.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: the world economic forum keeps putting out great reports on the impact of digital transformation. I love the illustrations, great summary of key trends and their adoption. Must read.
Stanford University has invited leading thinkers from several institutions to begin a 100-year effort to study and anticipate how the effects of artificial intelligence will ripple through every aspect of how people work, live and play.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: anyone committing to a 100-year study is worth my attention. And to have the best in the field do that I find is just the best way for future generations to understand the context in which we make decisions regarding how AI develops. Fascinating. Just look at the topics they cover:
Technical trends and surprises
Key opportunities for AI
Delays with translating AI advances into real-world value.
The AI Index is an open, not-for-profit project to track activity and progress in AI. It aspires to be a comprehensive resource of data and analysis for policymakers, researchers, executives, journalists and others to rapidly develop intuitions about the complex field of AI. AI is the new electricity, and is transforming multiple industries. The AI Index will help current generations track and navigate this societal transformations. It will also help future generations look back and understand the AI's rise.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: AI evolves rapidly and this report presents the state of the world (mostly the US at this time) as it relates to AI. Must read.
The robots are coming. We (as in the people who attend TED talks and things) tend to think we will probably be fine. You know, knowledge folks and all. We might not be. What will be our coping mechanisms? What can we do to be OK?
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: a short 15min video to listen to this weekend and bring very good conversation topics for Sunday dinner with the kids...
The Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies provides insights gained from evaluating more than 2,000 technologies. The eight added in 2017 include 5G, Artificial General Intelligence, Deep Learning, Deep Reinforcement Learning, Digital Twin, Edge Computing, Serverless PaaS and Cognitive Computing.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY THIS MATTERS
I find most of my clients struggling to find time and money to implement technologies that have been around for more than 10 years: Internet, Big Data, mobility, cloud computing, etc. When they do make it to implement them in their organizations, it is often too little too late to make a difference with their competition. As Wayne Gretsky famously said, you should "skate to where the puck will be, not where it is". Thus, every company's strategy should have a clear view on AI, blockchain, robots, 3D printing, Internet of Things, etc. Does your strat plan include them?
Forrester says that CIOs must act as VCs and recommends they support early-stage tech companies and have their own technology scouts. As CIO Angela Yochem told me in 2015, she has set up a process to find “capabilities that are not yet commercially available” and “quickly absorb, test, and utilize emerging technologies, and discard them if they are not appropriate and don’t give us a leg up on our competition.”
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS
Forrester has recently produced a matrix of disruptive technologies that is worth sharing. More important is the article conclusion where Forrester recommends that cIO act as Venture Capitalists to actively scout new technologies and companies to leverage this innovation for improved competitiveness. This is a radical departure form traditional IT roles and responsibilities which I believe has important benefits in large organizations where All eyes are on the CIO to lead the digital transformation. Unfortunately we are a long way away from this in most organizations.
Tech giants including Baidu and Google spent between $20B to $30B on AI in 2016, with 90% of this spent on R&D and deployment, and 10% on AI acquisitions. AI investment has turned into a race for patents and intellectual property (IP) among the world’s leading tech companies.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS
This article from McKinsey provides an overview of the investments, improvements and priorities in AI and machine learning as of mid 2017.
Are you ready for the next wave of emerging technologies? It includes the “essential eight”: Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, 3D printing, augmented reality (AR), drones, blockchain and virtual reality. While these emerging tools hold promise, they must compete for attention with today’s game changers, such as cloud, mobile and analytics.
As it stands, the most meaningful investments in emerging technology today are flowing to IoT and AI. Over the next three years, growth is expected across a broader spectrum of technologies, with robotics, AR and drone technologies poised for the greatest near-term growth. As far as disruption goes, 28% of Canadian executives say AI will shake up their industries and businesses over the next five years. And IoT (52%) and robotics (15%) are seen as holding the most potential to cut costs.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT
Investments in new technologies always compete with more traditional ones and the future appears to bring a whole set of new areas that will require attention and $$. Which one to prioritize is the question your strategic plan should answer.
Singularity University has been talking about purpose for some time now. They describe a focus that is audaciously big and aspirational, causing significant transformation to an Industry, community, or the planet. There is a clear “why” behind the work being done, something that unites and inspires action. They call this a Massive Transformative Purpose.
Farid Mheir's insight:
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.
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.
Mozilla’s new open source initiative to document and explain what’s happening to the health of the Internet. Combining research from multiple sources, we collect data on five key topics and offer a brief overview of each.
Farid Mheir's insight:
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.
The Artificial Intelligence Revolution isn’t around the corner—it’s here. A common remark is that as soon as some new form of AI is possible, it’s no longer AI, it’s just what computers “do”. And while we won’t notice most of AI’s effects in our world, there will be visible signs as digital technology is infused with AI. Through the lens of commerce, it’s easier to see AI’s deep effects as progress continues. Here are a few examples.
Farid Mheir's insight:
Very proud to share an article I recently co-authored on CloudRaker blog with Simon Hudson. It sheds lights into the potential impacts that AI will have on retail stores.
My 2016 predictions focused on the shifting world of customer experience. I have viewed experience through a next generation lens, realizing that our interaction paradigms will change considerably in the next five years (conversational systems, ecosystems, virtual reality, augmented reality, etc.). Rather than expand on that theme this year, I am shifting my lens to purpose. At the end of the day, it’s about human well-being. The experiences that business and government create are in some way linked to our own life experiences – and ultimately our well-being. History tells us that we experienced great improvements in the standard of living of developed countries during a special century between 1870 and 1970 – but there has been little change since.
Farid Mheir's insight:
Another set of predictions for the year but in the context of exponential growth.
Raffi Khatchadourian on Nick Bostrom, an Oxford philosopher who asks whether inventing artificial intelligence will bring us utopia or destruction.
Farid Mheir's insight:
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.
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.
Raffi Khatchadourian on Nick Bostrom, an Oxford philosopher who asks whether inventing artificial intelligence will bring us utopia or destruction.
Farid Mheir's insight:
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.
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.
2016 was an incredible year for technology, and for humanity. Despite all the negative political-related news, there were 10 tech trends this year that positively transformed humanity.
For this “2017 Kick-Off” blog, I reviewed 52 weeks of science and technology breakthroughs, and categorized them into the top 10 tech trends changing our world.
I’m blown away by how palpable the feeling of exponential change has become.
I’m also certain that 99.999% of humanity doesn’t understand or appreciate the ramifications of what is coming.
In this blog, enjoy the top 10 tech trends of the past 12 months and why they are important to you.
Farid Mheir's insight:
I am not a big fan of trends and yearly predictions as a glimpse into the future. However, I like them because they provide a good state of the nation - a condensed picture of where we are and what are hot topics.
This review is of particular value in that respect and I especially like #2 where author states "2016 was the year solar and renewable energy became cheaper than coal" because it goes against what we often hear, yet confirms something we expect will happen as it has been predicted for such a long time.
A motion graphic showing how Amazon’s new shopping experience Amazon Go will work. Simply scan in, take what you want and “Go”.
Farid Mheir's insight:
Below are some articles that describe AmazonGO technology in more detail, including a video animation. As you can see, we know very little and everyone is guessing at this time based on patent filing and an article from a consultant now hired by Amazon.
Maths ability will get you furthest, says Harvard's Davis Deming. As long as you've got the social skills to go with it.
Could a robot do your job? Millions of people who didn’t see automation coming will soon find out the painful way. The answer is a resounding yes. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobsstudy predicts that 5 million jobs will be lost before 2020 as artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnology and other socio-economic factors replace the need for human workers.
Farid Mheir's insight:
One important stat from The Future of Jobs report is that the top trend that will drive change in work is new technology and innovation.
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT
All jobs will be affected by technology and thus every good digital transformation should include the human disruption and its impact on current and future employees. Too often, we implement digital change and fail to consider people impact.
Look at UBER taxis: their model is to plow ahead and disrupt the market but they have failed to accompany the taxi drivers that are impacted. Because of it they are facing huge head winds from governments and established corporations.
On the other hand, Teo Taxi (Montreal-based) has recognized the people impact and embraced human transformation of the cab drivers which results in much better relationships and less confrontation. Same technology, same process, different human approach.
Google is investing hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece in virtual-reality films and programs, part of a plan to line up exclusive content for the debut of its new Daydream service in the coming weeks, according to people familiar with the matter.
Farid Mheir's insight:
Bloomberg video interview that provides motivations for the explosion on VR in the coming years:
1- applications are numerous, with opportunities in different space, not only in gaming but in medical, movie, etc.
2- big players are lined up : Google, Facebook, Microsoft, etc.
That being said, there have been multiple false starts for VR and #D (remember 3D TVs and google glasses?), so I remaining cautiously optimistic with both VR and AR. They may not be ready for consumer market but may expand into certain key niche applications and industries.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT
In that context, it is essential for digital transformation strategies to consider VR and AR in their roadmaps. There must be clear business needs to drive adoption of this relatively immature technology which requires a number of user constraint (least of which is wearing a headset which makes you look like a dork and prevents you from living in the moment). But there are multiple types of industries where professionals can find benefits in viewing things in 3D in a lifelike fashion: those should be prioritized.
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WHY IT MATTERS: AI is transformative because it can solve problems in 5 areas that were previously difficult to apply computer engineering and technologies before the advent of AI.