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“Possible Minds” 25 ways of looking at AI edited by John Brockman

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“ Possible Minds ” 25 ways of looking at AI edited by John Brockman One of the best books on AI, right now in 2019, not because of its technical deep views but because it presents many (25) arguments about different aspects of AI and why there cannot be one unified vision or view. It is one to read, just because at the end you have more questions you don’t have answers to; which is a Richard Feynman quote in parts. It does allow you to explore your own views about AI, you will align to different parts of the viewpoints presented, indeed you will create a mashup of them all where you feel comfortable. The take away from the book is the framework and not the content from reading this book, the challenge laid down to keep up with the 25 themes are they develop, morph, link, combine, fraction and fork; especially the ones you find are at conflict with your own view and belief will be the most difficult, and there are lots. Below is for me, some personal, interruption and thinking

Data Portability and Privacy

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#facebook published “ Charting a Way Forward on Privacy and Data Portability ” on 4/10/19 however it is *not* a white paper but a document seeking free guidance and input. In their own words “To address these challenges, we’re seeking feedback and guidance from a wide range of stakeholders about how to build portability in a way that empowers people and fosters competition while maintaining their trust in online services” I have, like many others, given a lot of input over the years to Facebook for free via invites to brainstorms, private sessions and roundtables. In all cases massive promises are made by #Facebook about what next but they never deliver. No papers, no summary, no write up, no thanks – nothing. I set out my thinking on the #facebook data portability paper at the end as interest to those who might also read the paper. I have been exploring the topic of data portability for some time. This piece explores the strategic opinions for market models and the regulators stanc

Marketing data lies and photo evidence proof - Uber drivers are not there. #whoelse

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Often I logged into Uber - the marketing says lots of cars near me right now and you book only to wait 10 minutes for a car.   By chance I was above the road when about to book recently.  I took three pictures on one phone, whilst in the Uber app on the other phone.  I took a screen shot from Uber app and their data showing cars right outside - at the same time as the empty road.   Were the Ubers parked, no, they were apparently driving past as I watched them move. I booked my Uber and the nearest driver was 8 minutes away..... I repeated the test a few time, making sure the road was empty.  Same results. Now wonder what rules they are using to show me the cars, what rules are they bending to market their services and what ethics they are using.

What is “the future of money?”

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So many wise words and wisdom's have been shared and debated on the topic of the future of money, along with numerous books and research papers on the same topic. I have reviewed much of what has been said over the past few years and surely the first question is. “Is there anything new to say?” Whilst walking recently with a good friend Celia Gates we explored the question using her Whether Forecasting model and here is some fresh thinking. “The future of money”; is the wrong question! Money was and remains amongst other things a method of exchange. If money had stayed as only a mechanism of exchange; kind of like what we created it for, we would not be where we are today with the economy we have and the freedoms we enjoy. Money had to and has become an object or an entity . An entity is a thing with distinct and independent existence. Money exists for money itself, it creates itself, it has value in of itself. Money is therefore both an exchange and is something in its own righ

Status update on automated decisions and algorithms

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The problem defined by responses   We don't know how automated decisions are being made We don't know what the impact of the automated decisions is / are We don't have a complete map of where the automated decisions are We have little to no qualified insight into the effects on the business or our customers There is no reporting to management when automated decisions have problems - as we don't know when it does There is a sense of trust in the (cto, cio, coo) that they will be on top of it We have no idea about bias in the original algorithm, data set and what updates changes have been made and the effect How our automated decisions effect people in the organisation and their behavior has not been qualified excellent writing and thinking on automated decisions and algorithms https://fpf.org/2017/12/11/unfairness-by-algorithm-distilling-the-harms-of-automated-decision-making/ https://www.infoq.com/articles/Can-People-Trust-Algorithm-Decisions/ htt

Imaging Digital Strategy starting from TRUST

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The purpose of this post is to set out the logic and background thinking to help create a digital strategy based on the concept of consumer TRUST. By the end you should have a framework to debate internal assumptions and hurdles which may be preventing your organisation from realising a transformation to digital thinking. A post exploring the consumer TRUST and why they matter is linked here. If your not sure about the types of consumer trust that exist, please do read that one first. This post starts out by looking at the strategic options which have dominated management thinking for over 50 years and how they are challenged by platforms and Data; including Big Data. It considers what happens if companies maintain existing strategies and styles, since these dominant forces (strategy and style) have path dependency (as in the economic definition). There is a recognition that the pressure of short term reporting and financial planning, with linear models, leads to a lack of appet

Mapping the different views of privacy ( public vs private) and why one identity makes no sense

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Plotting your view of private self to a public self, against wanting to be more private as a citizen or more public as a person. Broadcast ( where you are public figure) Identity in the form of recognition Professional ( have to be known and have a status) Identity in the form of reputation Obscurity ( ability to hide in plain sight) Identity I am who I say I am (or others) Privacy Laws (where so much case law exists) Identity in the form of want to hide and have protection