AI For Great Decisions

Divining great decisions is elusive, in that, there are many factors besides the speed that is required in today's fast paced world. Decisions require considering more information and contextual impact than ever before. The need for speed with increasing complexity begs for technical assistance from Cognitive AI. This post will look into three of these factors and how cognitive powers can be applied to assist the decision maker. 

Assisting Knowledge Intense Decisions:

Knowledge based workers and high level professionals can benefit from an AI assist. AI can search, read, understand and categorize various sources of unstructured data such as documents, voice and video faster than any human. Teams of researchers can't even keep up with AI especially dealing with emerging new levels and sources of information. Wouldn't you want your most trusted experts assisted with the latest information worldwide? If so, AI can help.

Assisting Algorithmic Intense Decisions:

Today great decisions can be made by having the right set of algorithms applied in the the proper sequence to come up with optimal decisions. Analytics or poly-analytics can be further leverage by using cognitive assists to decide on new combinations and sequences replacing the human trial and error application of filters and algorithms.  Predictive algorithms can be enhanced by machine learning and cognitive AI as a side benefit. Wouldn't you want a suggestion on what analytics to use? If so, AI can help. 

Assisting Situation Intense Decisions: 

AI can consider assist the decision maker by considering all the contexts that could be affected by a decision while iteratively gathering additional information on the impact of a decision or a series of decisions strung together over time. This is a difficult task for most of us. Wouldn't you want an understanding of the impact of a decision on all of the contexts it might affect. If so, AI can help. 

Net; Net: 

We need to move the needle on decisions by collaborating with AI / Bots as well as other people. The day of isolated decisions is drawing to a close. Even if you were as smart as they come, you can't compete with the speed and complexity that AI can attain. Why not leverage AI as a collaborator in your decisions? 

AI For Strategic Leverage

Artificial Intelligence can be leveraged quickly for business strategy by seeking out important patterns inside and outside an organization, assisting with strategic moves and suggest the proper actions to either take advantage of a situation or avoid a potential risk. This involves finding the patterns of interest, pointing out viable alternatives and suggesting courses of action in a significantly compressed time period. 

Identifying, sorting and recognizing impact of patterns:

Signals and patterns need to be quickly sifted and aggregated into patterns of interests for managers to decide and take action to optimize an organizations opportunities or protect organizations from emerging risks. This sifting, aggregating and learning can be assisted and super charged by cognitive AI. Some of this recognition is likely to involve scout agents at the edge that might be embedded in programmable chips, software bots and senors in and around IoT networks. Other recognition could be done in a more central-like fashion when combined with data, policies, rules and constraints that have been deemed strategic in nature. 

Assisting decisions on patterns of interest:

Once patterns are detected, AI can arrange the sequencing of evaluating simulations in parallel environments (twins), test with significant algorithms or run inferencing approaches. AI can additionally select the proper visualization for human interaction and notify the proper managers of a need for decision(s). Over time the AI agents can learn to reduce human interaction leveraging machine intelligence while it learns what patterns are helpful or harmful. 

Acting out the proper responses to patterns:

Over time AI will not only assist with better decisions on these patterns, AI will suggest changes in the actions in response to harmful or helpful patterns. AI can help optimize internal actions and test them out. AI can point to proper external actions that are crucial in responding to these strategic patterns of interest. Over time AI can suggest changes to policies, governance and constraints. Ultimately, AI can act alone with notifications after the fact to attain ultimate AI freedom levels.

Net; Net:

AI has great potential to help with not only operational behaviors, but strategic responses to opportunities and threats. This may move organizations in the direction of leveraging gaming-like approaches to pattern responses and consequences. 

Additional Reading:

Uses of AI Today
AI for Speed
AI at the Edge

Art for 4Q 2016

This quarter was more about customer satisfaction rather than trying new art methods. I had a commission piece that ended up being a Christmas gift for a biker buddy of mine from his significant other. Also I managed to sell a few other pieces, so I now can buy more art supplies :)  I did manage to create a couple of new 3D fractals that I hope you enjoy.

Web Presence:

http://www.james-sinur.com/  & 

http://www.jimsinur.com/  

Bones Rides Again 

Craters

Sponge Garden

Previous Quarters Pieces:

3Q 2016 click here

2Q 2016 click here

1Q 2016 click here 

4Q 2015 click here

  

 

2017: Top Seven Digital Predictions

The new year promises opportunities for organizations that are aimed at better business outcomes leveraging digital technologies. 2016 was characterized by significant digital experimentation with intense customer focus and increased operational efficiency.  These themes will continue and be amplified in 2017 along with better security, better business adaptation, more convergence of digital technologies while seeking a bigger set of digital benefits. Here are my top predictions for 2017 based on what I have been seeing and hearing.

Digital Moves Up Stream from Experimentation:

While experimentation will not disappear, organizations will be focusing their lessons learned to easy on ramps to additional digital benefits. Here is a list of areas of activity that are within reach that can deliver accelerated benefit streams while making organizations more digital.

▪        Journey Mapping  (Customer, Employee or Partner)

▪        Better User Experience (UX, Mobile, or Workbench)

▪        Eliminate Paper  (Electronic First Mile Process)

▪        Better Visualization (Real Time Dash Boards/Alerts, SLAs )

▪        Better Exception Management (Process & Rule Adjustments)

▪        Decision & Knowledge Assists (Predictive & Cognitive)

▪        Real Time Pattern Recognition (IoT, Big Data & Rules)

▪        Scenario Planning  (Simulation & Planned Responses)

Artificial Intelligence(AI) Gets Legs:

Because of the last artificial AI winter, that lasted from 1990 to 2015, organizations have been reluctant to embrace AI. With recent advances in ease of training and utilization, organizations now are willing to try AI. There are case studies now that prove that AI and machine learning can make an organizations processes, applications and resources smarter. There is too much proof of success to not take a risk on AI in 2017. 

Crypto Crime & Warfare Focus:

While not in the critical path of delivering digital, large leaps in digital will require better security that is easy to use and natural. In 2017 security will be front and center. Block Chain will offer help as it's performance increases. Bio-metrics seem to be gathering steam, but they are not consistent or ubiquitous. 

Universal Digital Identity Gets a Start:

Today Identity is a technical mechanism for registration, but in 2017 there will be movement in a direction towards a business mechanism. Not only will there be a unique identity for each person and thing (IoT), there will be preferences and guidance in how to interact and service each entity. Preferred journeys will also be recorded by identity. These digital identities will be local at first, but will eventually be global in nature and shared. 

Increased Recognition Gets a Boost:

New combinations of technologies can alert managers and workers of emerging signals or patterns in traditional big data sources at faster and faster speeds. Added to the mix in 2017, will be the understanding unstructured data, content, voice, images and video. AI and complex event management will certainly aid this new and untapped source of patterns. There will be great new strides in visualization to help detect important triggers that would cause further analysis. 

Deciding and Acting Properly Gets Assistance:

Analytics has always been great for helping professionals make decisions. In 2017 poly-analytics combined with AI assists magnified through advanced 3D visualization will help assist better informed decisions. These decisions should guide better actions and should help anticipate and intercept future or emerging situations. 

Digital Business Platforms(DBP) Become a Destination: 

Today organizations have had to test each emerging technology and apply them in useful combinations on their own. Open platform vendors will provide environments that will act as a cloud based mesh platform that has tested combinations of digital technologies. They will support advanced development environments including model driven, component assembly and robotic programming automation(RPA). These platforms will support digital twin behavior that allows for the trial of proposed changes in a parallel like environment. 

Net; Net:

2017 is a year of traction for digital transformations and the start of some major trends. I would love to hear your take on 2017. I took my shot, so feedback would be appreciated.