Dorian Selz, CEO, Squirro: Why the AI revolution will take time

Imagine you are riding in a fully driverless car - with no human controls - down a narrow countryside road, with no lights or road markings. Upon emerging from a twisting bend a flock of sheep confront you. What happens next?

These types of situations are what programs such as the MIT-developed Moral Machine have been looking to unlock. The site has for the past four years canvassed public opinion by presenting a series of ethical dilemmas: should an autonomous car...

26 May 2020 | Adoption

Elif Tutuk, Qlik: On securing data literacy and the evolution of AI with BI

This time last year, a fascinating report from venture capital firm Work-Bench assessed the future of enterprise software.

The study argued that the largest technology companies were winning at artificial intelligence (AI) – not surprising, given they can hoover up all the best talent – but more importantly, business intelligence (BI) vendors wanting to ensure their future going forward needed to beef up their skillsets with AI. “Expect all modern BI vendors to release an...

16 September 2019 | Big Data

We need to do better with our data – can citizen scientists make a difference?

Most people in IT know that the role of the data scientist is growing in importance and many will know that the result of this demand means there is a shortage of people with the necessary skills to do the job. Search for the term “data scientist” and LinkedIn will return over 287,000 responses; data scientists are very much in demand and their services do not come cheaply. Six-figure salaries are mainstream.

First, let me try to define my terms, because data science is a...

10 September 2019 | Big Data

Jonathan Bowl, Hitachi Vantara: On the changing face – and pace – of big data

We have all heard the ‘data is the new oil’ aside, usually elicited by someone who honestly believes you’re hearing it for the first time. Indeed, the caveat that data needs to be built upon – as oil is only thick goop before refinement – is never too far away either.

Thankfully Jonathan Bowl, vice president and general manager of big data analytics and IoT at Hitachi Vantara, has a much more refreshing take on this aphorism. Data is not the new oil, he explains. Data...

19 July 2019 | Big Data

Ben Dias, Royal Mail: On building out data science teams and ensuring deep mathematical understanding

For Ben Dias, head of advanced analytics and data science at Royal Mail, there are three non-negotiables when it comes to looking for prospective data scientists. Candidates need to want to learn, and be able to pick things up quickly, be able to program, and have a deep understanding of mathematics.

The latter is not overly surprising given Dias (left) describes himself as a ‘computational mathematician’ and that his undergraduate studies were in mathematics and...

14 March 2019 | Big Data

How AI is helping to predict cryptocurrency value

Cryptocurrencies have come a long way since Bitcoin was first announced in late 2008. In just a decade the market has skyrocketed from zero to an estimated $400bn, and a further 3,000 cryptocurrencies have since launched. But this success has not been without its ups and downs. Bitcoin alone has fluctuated from almost $20,000 to less than a cent during this time. There’s a lot of money to be made in cryptocurrency, and a lot of money to be lost. Luckily for investors (and developers),...

21 November 2018 | Big Data

Kimberly Nevala, SAS: Bolstering BI with AI – and how every executive needs to be part chief analytics officer

The promise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in an enterprise context is a tantalising one. In some ways, the combination of artificial intelligence and big data is helping transform legacy business intelligence systems – and potentially the executives who ran them. But what best practices can be transferred between the two, and what happens from here? Kimberly Nevala (left) is director of business strategies at analytics, business intelligence and data management...

19 November 2018 | Big Data

People.ai grabs $7 million funding to launch world’s first AI-powered sales management platform

People.ai has received $7 million in Series A funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Its list of investors includes Y Combinator, Ron Conway's SV Angel, Index Ventures and Shasta Ventures. Nakul Mandan, Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, will be a part of the People.ai board of directors. People.ai is an artificial intelligence (AI) powered sales management platform that helps sales managers make better and faster decisions by providing refreshing insights and utilising a data...

8 June 2017 | Big Data

AI falls on the final furlong in predicting Kentucky Derby winner

The Kentucky Derby, one of the three races which make up the Triple Crown in US horse racing, was won over the weekend by Always Dreaming, the 9-2 favourite which came home by 2 ¾ lengths in cool and damp conditions. Yet for one company which placed its collective AI efforts on predicting the runners and riders correctly, Always Dreaming did not feature in their winners’ enclosure – despite getting the result spot on last year. Unanimous AI, founded in 2015, offers what it calls...

8 May 2017 | Big Data