Category / generative AI

by Robb Bush

AI and Interdisciplinary R&D

In my previous article, “AI: a paradigm shift for software?”, where I explored how science historian / philosopher Thomas Kuhn might assess whether or not the current trends in AI could lead to a paradigm-shift, the topic of Interdisciplinary R&D comes up as a recurring theme in his work.

Kuhn explored many examples where an interdisciplinary approach has yielded better quality and/or faster progress by actively exploring multiple angles and approaches to a problem by actively challenging the established assumptions and concepts of any one specific field.

MY TAKE: Many of the complex problems and challenges associated with AI are beyond the scope of any single discipline. Interdisciplinary R&D has the potential to overcome disciplinary boundaries to promote new approaches that are more inclusive and integrated – that better reflect the complex reality of AI in society today.

What better way to get an idea of the key challenges in AI that could benefit from Interdisciplinary R&D – than to converse with an AI!

Examples of Interdisciplinary R&D in AI:

The concepts below are not “straight outta GPT” but have been human-curated a bit. I have broken them into what I think are “obvious” and “non-obvious” challenges associated with AI.

It’s the “non-obvious” problems I am most interested in, but I am also including the “obvious” (and still important) ones too.

Non-obvious AI challenges 👀

Autonomous systems and human-robot interaction

  • Autonomous systems have the potential to revolutionize transportation and logistics, but they also raise significant safety and ethical concerns.
  • Engineers, psychologists, industrial designers and ethicists can help to identify and address these concerns, and develop new approaches to designing autonomous systems that are more responsive to the needs and preferences of different users.

Healthcare and medical research

  • AI has the potential to revolutionize healthcare and medical research by enabling more accurate and personalized diagnoses and treatments.
  • Healthcare professionals, data scientists, industrial designers, and machine learning experts can help to identify and address the challenges associated with using AI in healthcare, such as ensuring patient privacy, interpreting complex medical data, and developing ethical guidelines for the use of AI in medical decision-making.

Environmental monitoring and sustainability

  • AI can be used to monitor and analyze environmental data, such as air and water quality, and to develop new approaches to sustainable development.
  • Environmental scientists, computer scientists, systems engineers and policy experts can help to identify and address the challenges associated with using AI in environmental monitoring and sustainability, such as ensuring the accuracy and reliability of environmental data and developing policies that promote sustainable development.

Obvious AI challenges 🤖

Fairness and bias

  • Developing algorithms and models that are fair and unbiased.
  • Computer scientists, social scientists, and ethicists can help to identify and mitigate the biases that can be introduced by AI algorithms and ensure that the resulting systems are more equitable and inclusive.

Explainability and transparency

  • Systems that are transparent and explainable, so that users can understand how they work and how decisions are being made.
  • Computer scientists, cognitive scientists, and ethicists can help to develop new approaches to explainable AI that are more effective and accessible to a wider range of users.

Social and ethical implications

  • AI has the potential to impact society in many ways, from job displacement to the development of new forms of surveillance and control.
  • Sociologists, philosophers, and policymakers can help to identify and address the social and ethical implications of AI, and develop policies and regulations that are responsive to these concerns.

Interpretable and robust machine learning

  • As machine learning models become more complex, it becomes increasingly difficult to interpret how they arrive at their decisions. This can be a significant barrier to the adoption of these models in critical domains, such as healthcare and finance.
  • Computer scientists, statisticians, and mathematicians can help to develop new methods for interpreting and understanding machine learning models, as well as methods for making them more robust and less susceptible to attacks.

NLP and language understanding

  • Linguists, computer scientists, and cognitive scientists can help to develop more sophisticated Natural Language Processing (NLP) models that better reflect the complex and nuanced nature of human language, as well as methods for training these models with smaller amounts of data.

Human-computer interaction (HCI) and user experience (UX)

  • As AI systems become more ubiquitous, it is important to ensure that they are designed with the user in mind and are accessible to a wide range of users.
  • Computer scientists, psychologists, and designers can help to develop AI systems that are more intuitive and user-friendly, and that take into account the needs and preferences of different users

Data privacy and security

  • As AI systems become more reliant on data, ensuring the privacy and security of that data becomes increasingly important.
  • Computer scientists, legal scholars, and cybersecurity experts can help to identify and address the privacy and security risks associated with AI, and develop new approaches to data governance and regulation that are responsive to these concerns.

The disciplines mentioned above are fairly generic and could expand or change based on the contours and topology of a specific ‘AI Challenge’ – but this looks like a good ‘starter-pack’. There could be more. There will be more.

NET: Interdisciplinary R&D has the potential to develop new approaches and solutions using AI that are more effective, efficient, and ethical, and that better reflect the diverse needs and values of society as a whole.

What do you think?

by Robb Bush

AI: a paradigm-shift for software?

In his landmark book “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions”, Thomas S. Kuhn introduced the concept of the paradigm-shift, which is a fundamental change in the way that we view and approach a particular problem or field.

For there to be a shift, the new paradigm:

  • explains previously inexplicable phenomena
  • resolves inconsistencies in the old paradigm
  • fundamentally changes the way we approach the field

Today, we are witnessing another shift in the computing paradigm with AI making it easier and faster to create code, automate tasks, and more – and improving itself at an accelerating pace. Like other paradigm-shifts in computing, it is also enabled by the predictable increase in computing power (Moore’s Law). In addition, there is a ‘stacking’ or multiplier-effect of AI-oriented computing capabilities – that may prove to scale or multiply in a similar way.

Will AI-oriented computing be a true paradigm-shift, or simply a continuation of the current paradigm?

There is a striking fundamental difference from the current paradigm of humans writing code to explicitly define the steps a computer should take, to a potentially new paradigm of algorithms and models that learn and make decisions based on data and objectives.

The AI-oriented computing paradigm can explain things that were previously inexplicable and it can resolve many of the inconsistencies and inefficiencies of the current paradigm.

Perhaps most importantly, AI has the potential to enable new applications and solve problems that were previously impossible or impractical to address using traditional methods.

More broadly, a true Kuhnian paradigm-shift is NOT just ‘new technology or breakthrough’, but must include:

  • a change in the way we think about and approach computing as a whole
  • a shift in the underlying assumptions and concepts that guide our understanding

My Take

The current trajectory of AI-oriented computing is approaching a new paradigm.

AI-oriented computing could fundamentally change the way that we think-about and approach what we currently call the ‘software design / development / maintenance’ process – and towards new-thinking and approaches that are not centered on ‘the code’, and the multitude of tasks and human-efforts around it, that we see today.

I anticipate the new paradigm will be increasingly interdisciplinary – where the definition, purpose, and process of what we call ‘software’ today, will become more inclusive across disciplines and domains, with an increasingly broad span of capabilities; from the most ephemeral / esoteric personal use such as, ‘l need a one-time app composed for what I am doing today’ – to running the most sensitive and mission-critical business functions such as ‘execute according to required policies and business objectives’.

What do you think?

Will AI-oriented computing be a new paradigm, or is it simply a continuation of the current paradigm?

supply chain visualization generated by robb bush using midjourney #promptengineering
by Robb Bush

the future is closer than it appears

In the fall of 2020, I embarked on a journey to revolutionize the concept of supply chain management – and all that ‘SCM’ has come to embrace or imply.

However, realizing the rapid evolution of technology, I was determined NOT to be constrained by a fixed “tech stack” or mindset from the start – but to focus solely on how “it” should behave, given different conditions and scenarios.

Drawing on my 25+ years of experience in Enterprise Software, I firmly believe that initial tech-decisions have an immense and lasting impact on the speed, agility, and innovation throughout the entire company and product lifecycle.

I am grateful that I held off, as the future trajectory has become increasingly clear with each passing month, week, or day (recently)!

With this in mind, there is no better time than NOW to accelerate the development of a new approach to enabling the dynamic and intelligent enterprise of the future.

If this sounds interesting, or is your kinda thing – please reach out!

#generativeai #ai #enterprise #supplychain #autonomous #industry5 #numuv

by Robb Bush

High-Velocity Commerce – SXSW 1999

Here is a ‘podcast’ about my SXSW presentation in 1999.

Of course it’s ai-generated, and welcome to what’s next!

SXSW has a history going back almost 40 years, catalogued on its website. However, it’s just select snippets from what MUST be a truly INCREDIBLE historic archive!

Should SXSW “AI-ify” all that content someday? 🤔

TRANSCRIPT

Online shopping these days. It’s like trying to keep up with a rocket. Right. Well, buckle up, because we’re hitting rewind back to a time before same day delivery was a thing before you could even order groceries from your phone. For smartphones, period. We’re talking 1999. Yeah, you heard that right. 1999 South by Southwest Interactive. The dawn of the.com boom.

People thought they could sell anything online and everyone was scrambling to figure out how. Luckily for us, someone was there taking notes or more accurately, giving a presentation. Exactly.

We unearthed this gem of a talk. And let me tell you, it’s like a time capsule from the future of shopping. Our guide on this trip down memory lane is Robb Bush, marketing guru extraordinaire, working at a company called i2.

Right? And he doesn’t disappoint. He steps onto that SXSW stage with his bold prediction. Commerce is about to get a whole lot faster. He called it high velocity commerce. Catchy, right? But back then, no one even knew what that meant. So let’s dive in, shall we? Picture this. It’s 1999. The Dot-Com hype is real. And Robb’s blowing minds with these new marketing opportunities.

He’s talking about things like 1 to 1 marketing and customer profiling. Now remember this is before Facebook, before every website was tracking your every move. It’s like he was speaking a foreign language, except it was the language of the future. And get this. He was already warning people about the potential downsides. Like what happens when everyone is selling someone else’s products?

He called it the de-contextualization of marketing messages. Think about how relevant that is today with online marketplaces and all those targeted ads following you around. It’s like he could see the future of the internet, both the good and the well, maybe not so good, but the real heart of his presentation was this. What were consumers expecting from this brave new world of online shopping?

And get ready for it, because it sounds eerily familiar. Go on. He said online shoppers in 1999 wanted to – get this – higher quality, tailored products the best price delivered. Ready for this tomorrow? Tomorrow? Yeah, in 1999. That would have blown people’s minds. Back then, tomorrow meant waiting a week, maybe more. Exactly. And you have to hand it to Robb Bush.

He didn’t shy away from the challenges. He put it out there asking businesses, can you develop, buy, make, move, store, sell and deliver with the responsiveness required for high velocity commerce? The man was throwing down the gauntlet. He was. And here’s the real kicker. How can you support the level of customization and personalization promised? See, he knew speed wasn’t enough.

It had to be personalized speed. He was talking about a whole new way of doing business. He called it integrated demand planning and fulfillment. Okay, so what in the world does that even mean? It sounds pretty technical, even for a bunch of techies back in 99, it does sound a bit like something you’d need a dictionary for, right?

Well, it might sound complicated, but it’s actually the blueprint for how we shop online today. Imagine, if you will, a world where businesses can predict what you want. Predict. Come on. That’s straight out of Minority Report. Well, maybe not predict exactly, but get pretty darn close. Think about it. Businesses could configure products on demand, give you instant pricing, and guarantee delivery dates.

Hold up. This is 1999, right? We’re talking dial up modems and those clunky computer monitors. Is that even possible back then? That’s the thing. It wasn’t. At least not on the scale that Bush was imagining. He was basically predicting the rise of cloud computing, sophisticated algorithms, the whole shebang. He knew that businesses would need to connect the dots between different departments, different systems, to make it happen.

It’s like he could see the matrix or something. But how do you propose they actually do it? What were those acronyms again? CRM, a SCM&O. It’s like alphabet soup over here. He was definitely ahead of his time with those acronyms, but they actually make a lot of sense. CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. Basically, it’s all about understanding your customers.

Like what do they like? What do they buy, what makes them tick. So CRM is like the digital equivalent of that shop owner who knows everyone’s name and their favorite order. You got it. And then there’s SCM&O, Supply Chain Management and operations. This is the behind the scenes magic of getting a product from the factory to your doorstep.

Okay, so that’s like the logistics crew making sure everything runs smoothly. Exactly. And last but not least, PLM product lifecycle management. This one’s all about the journey of a product from the initial idea all the way to when it’s discontinued.

So are you saying that Robb Bush basically predicted the entire e-commerce ecosystem we have today? Back in 1999.

That’s wild. It’s pretty mind blowing, right? He saw that to create this high velocity commerce, you needed to connect all these different parts of a business. It wasn’t just about selling things online. It was about creating a whole new way of operating. And a big part of that was putting the customer at the center of it all. It’s like he was saying, hey, forget mass production, let’s focus on personalization.

But wasn’t there a risk of losing that human touch in all this technology? That’s a great question. And it’s something that Bush was acutely aware of. He knew that technology alone wasn’t enough. You needed something else to build trust, to create a sense of community in this new digital marketplace. So he wasn’t just talking about algorithms and supply chains.

There was a human side to his vision, too. Absolutely. He talked about building knowledge in consumer communities, places where people could connect, share information, get advice. Wait a minute. Is he talking about online reviews back in 1999? He might as well have been. Yeah. He understood that even in a digital world. People still craved connection. That sense of community you get from interacting with others.

So he wasn’t just predicting Amazon. He was predicting the rise of online forums, product reviews, maybe even influencer marketing. It’s all connected. Exactly. And here’s the kicker. A lot of what Bush talked about back then, it’s just, well, it’s just how we shop now. Personalized recommendations, instant delivery. The whole nine yards. It’s like he had a crystal ball and he saw the future of online shopping.

It makes you wonder what would he think of e-commerce today, right? Would he be impressed or would he be like, ‘what took you so long’? It’s probably a bit of both. But one thing’s for sure. His call to action is more relevant than ever. Enhance the way you do business. Seize new marketing opportunities. Build customer relationships, improve operational efficiency, and gain a competitive advantage.

Those words could have been spoken today. It’s true. It’s like the fundamentals of business. They never really change, do they? It’s all about adapting. Evolving. Staying one step ahead. Well said. And on that note, I think we’ve reached the end of our journey back to the dot.com frontier. It’s amazing how much has changed in 25 years and how much has stayed the same.

The desire for connection, for a seamless and personalized experience. It’s what drives us as consumers. It’s true. And who knows what the future holds. Maybe in another 25 years someone will unearth this very podcast and marvel at how we used to shop with just our phones. The cycle continues. I wouldn’t be surprised. But until then, we can keep exploring, keep innovating, keep chasing that high velocity commerce dream.

Here’s to the future of shopping. Thanks for joining us for this deep dive, everyone. Until next time.