Gartner is emphasizing algorithms,
interconnections and relationships as the core of Digital Business this year at
Symposium. This is a good start, but I think there are some missing pieces
unless Gartner is redefining what an algorithm is in the digital world. In the
past algorithms were the math formulas or calculations that help in problem
solving. In this sense, algorithms are rising as important digital
contributors, but I can see other contributors such as knowledge, cognition and
context. Since digital is speeding up things, putting these other contributors
in the mix is critical. This is why cognitive computing will catch on to go
beyond just algorithms. Cogs and swarming agents will be additional
contributors to the Digital Economy.
Knowledge:
Knowledge is awareness or familiarity gained by experience of facts or
situation. Knowledge takes in data, judgement and situations. Algorithms
generally only work on data and are typically focused on a few situations. It
usually takes judgement to decide where to apply an algorithm.
Besides just facts or information, knowledge can be the skills acquired by a person
through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of
a subject.
Cognition is the mental action or process of
acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the
senses. A result of cognition is a perception, sensation, notion, or
intuition which may or may not result in an action. Cognitive services are not
predictable algorithms, but may use inference, statistics and algorithms in
combination. Cognitive services (COGs for short) will be as plentiful as algorithms in the Digital Economy.
Context:
Contexts are the circumstances that form the
setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully
understood and assessed. Algorithms rarely consider context as they usually
operate as a black box and are predictable. Contextually sensitive algorithms
generally require knowledge and cognition to thrive beyond specific uses
singularly or in combination with other algorithms.
Net; Net:
I hope Gartner meant something far beyond the traditional meaning of algorithms, because I think it is a disservice to what Digital will become. I believe that along with algorithms, knowledge, experience and context will be necessary for technology to learn (machine learning) and to behave as software Agents & Cogs on behalf of people or the Internet of things (IoT). As these agents mature more intelligence will be added to these agents so the they swarm to serve to reach goals that represent desirable outcomes.
Additional Reading on Agents:
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