WHY IT MATTERS: Digital Transformation

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

Automobile tech combines so many of the high tech solutions and technologies - from AI to new batteries - that it makes for a great case study to understand how much transportation will change in the coming years. And with it, the possibility of business transformation from eCommerce delivery to supply chain improvements to employee getting to work with little stress and no traffic jams.

Read the article but you can skip the 7min video. For a better - and more relaxed - discussion, consider watching this 1hr interview full of descriptions of self-driving car insights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zy_07g2IrM

For a more technical speech, view the Berkley presentation, even though there are elements that are redundant it provides additional insights into the technology: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hxoke1lDJ9w

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

His approach is radically different than others and more "purist" from an artificial intelligence and crowd sourcing and I believe that makes his approach something to consider in other areas.

For more reading on the subject, this bloomberg paper also brings good insights: http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2015-george-hotz-self-driving-car/

Moreover it appears that Google lead is slowly shrinking: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-12/google-car-project-loses-leaders-and-advantage-as-rivals-gain 

Fatal car crash of a Tesla on highway using automated driving mode. The post provides some information about the crash, which appears to be due to a condition that was never programmed into the system (side hit).

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

Autonomous vehicles will become more and more popular in the future and this event reminds us of the complexities involved. We are very early in this field and much like aviation there should be formal investigations and corrective actions taken when such crash occur so that all manufacturers can learn from crashes. This calls for an international database of car crashes and there should be mandatory requirements for new self-driving systems to "pass" the exam ie. to ensure they all react correctly to previously seen car crashes and other incidents. 

This thus becomes an opportunity to learn from the global past experience of millions of drivers and billions of kilometers driven in all conditions, across all countries. I am not aware of such a central database but would expect it to become a reality if we want autonomous driving to be a transformation beyond what we have today: each driver learning for themselve.

218 slides of jammed packed information. Soon I will be able to blog one slide of this Mary Meeker State of the Internet annual presentation per day for the whole year. Wow...

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

This is an annual event for digital experts: the state of the Internet. This year, it focusses on deep learning (think voice+image recognition) and cars. Because really the Internet growth is slowing down. So is mobile phone usage. The trend thus appears to be what we build on top of the Internet and not the Internet itself. Finally.

Every company executive and board member should listen to this talk. Even if you don't understand everything you should ask yourself: how is our company positioned to address those trends? In most cases I assume the answer will be: we are not. This should be cause for concern and action.

For previous year presentations, go to http://www.scoop.it/t/digital-transformation-of-businesses/?q=meeker 

Companion post to my previous one here: http://sco.lt/7c2fS5