If you peruse business publications or pay attention to business commercials for a few minutes, you’re likely to find artificial intelligence (AI) come up in the discussion. It is one of the most used terms today. Although we may not yet have the robots and devices depicted in science-fiction, AI-driven solutions are not hype. According to a recent PwC survey of 1,000 US business executives at companies that are already investigating or implementing AI, 20 percent said their organizations plan to implement AI enterprise-wide in 2019.

Matt Bornstein (principal at VC firm Blumberg Capital) explains the progression to AI. Prior to AI, “explicit programming” had been integral to everything from the mainframe to the smartphone, from the internet boom to the mobile revolution. Basically, it entails thinking deeply about a problem, coming up with a clever approach (i.e., algorithm) and giving a machine a set of instructions to execute. It has helped create new markets and made companies like Apple, Microsoft, Google and Facebook household names.

Since then, we have seen some interesting innovations. For example, Microsoft’s translation engine surfaced which can match human levels of accuracy in Chinese-to-English tasks. Startups are breaking new ground in areas like intelligent assistants, industrial automation and fraud detection.

Deep Learning

The core breakthrough behind each of these advances is deep learning, an AI technique inspired by the structure of the human brain. What started as a relatively narrow data analysis tool now serves as something close to a general computing platform. It outperforms traditional software across a wide range of tasks and may finally deliver the intelligent systems that have long eluded computer scientists.

Amid the deep learning buzz, though, many observers miss the biggest reason to be optimistic about its future: deep learning requires coders to write very little actual code. Rather than relying on preset rules or if-then statements, a deep learning system writes rules automatically based on past examples. A software developer only has to create a “rough skeleton,” to paraphrase Andrej Karpathy from Tesla, then let the computers do the rest.

In this new world, developers no longer need to design a unique algorithm for each problem. Most work focuses, instead, on generating datasets that reflect desired behavior and managing the training process. Pete Warden from Google’s TensorFlow team pointed this out as far back as 2014: “I used to be a coder,” he wrote. “Now I teach computers to write their own programs.”

Autocorrecting Bad Processes

Tom McKeown (CEO and Co-Founder of TrenData, a leading provider of people analytics software) offers a perspective on AI as it relates to enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. He describes ERP software as an application that can efficiently automate manual processes. On the low end, that can be something as simple as a spreadsheet, which automates minor calculations by inputting and copying formulas to multiple cells. A more advanced application might be a type of recruiting software that replaces the repetitive activities of collecting resumes and moving job candidates through the hiring process.

The biggest problem with automating a manual process occurs when that process is a bad one. An example would be if the previously mentioned recruiting software were to track multiple instances of candidates, located somewhere specific, who were recruited through a certain job board and constantly failed a logic test after the fourth interview. In a manually constructed process, that anomaly would go unnoticed for multiple rounds before a human resource information system analyst printed a report and brought it to someone’s attention. Even when fortunate enough to have that analyst, the cost of hours spent interviewing and system uptime to that point would, in most instances, be considerable.

This is where AI and machine learning platforms can provide such great value. The technology embeds the capability for software applications to correct bad processes within the program. If the above candidate scenario were run on an AI-based platform, after the scenario had been run a few times, the system would flag the process, adapt and start rerouting candidates from the job board and location. So, they either don’t advance or more diligence is done at an earlier stage in the process.

Natural Language Processing

One other prevalent use of AI in business software is in the realm of natural language processing. This is where rather than navigating through a series of complex menus, system users can get to the information or section of a program they need by typing a command in the manner they would speak it. Instead of stepping through a hierarchical software workflow, a user would simply type in something like “Where am I getting my best hires?” Then, just like typing a question into Google or any other browser, the answer or a ranking of answers would appear.

By putting AI and deep learning into software-defined architectures, Fierce Telecom argues network operators and enterprises can move a lot of the human manual processes into automated operations in the near term. The long-term goal is moving from automated elements to closed loop automation and finally to autonomous control of networks.

With AI-driven solutions, the software you use will become smarter, more efficient and user-friendly over time. Consequently, future use will involve fewer manual mistakes that cost time and money.

Related articles:

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Ryan Lahti is the managing principal of OrgLeader and author of The Finesse Factor: How to Build Exceptional Leaders in STEM Organizations being published in early 2019. Stay up to date on Ryan’s STEM organization tweets here: @ryanlahti

(Photo: Machine Learning and AI, Flickr)

Microsoft will do very well with its incoming Teams product that leverages all of Microsoft’s Office 365 apps and services according to new research from Spiceworks. Based on input from 450+ IT professionals in North America and EMEA, the tech company appears set to become kingpin when it comes to messaging platforms in the work environment.

TechRadar noticed two functions that Teams has over the competition. First, when you create a message, you can deem it as “Important” with an exclamation point symbol, alerting everyone in the channel. Second, Teams offers a custom polling tool to easily take team members’ reactions to a given idea, subject, etc. without a plug-in.

Microsoft Teams is only used by 3 percent of businesses right now (this increases to 7 percent when talking about larger firms of 500+ employees), but it’s expected to grow considerably within the next two years, with 17 percent of organizations planning to adopt the system. TechRadar believes this means within two years Teams will be used by 20 percent of organizations (with the majority of that adoption coming in the first year). This would overtake both Google Hangouts and Slack, which Spiceworks estimates will be 19 percent and 17 percent respectively.

In other words, Microsoft Teams will be the second most-used messaging platform, behind only Skype for Business which will be deployed by 47 percent of firms in two years’ time (and is already used by 36 percent of businesses). Of course, that’s a Microsoft product too, leaving the firm pretty dominant when it comes to collaborative chat in the workplace.

As for Workplace by Facebook, another big name in this arena, it is currently only being used by 1 percent of smaller firms, and 2 percent of larger companies. According to Spiceworks, 82 percent of the professionals surveyed said they had no plans to deploy this platform at their organization.

Other interesting points the research turned up include the fact that 47 percent of the EMEA IT pros indicated that they believed collaborative chat apps were critical to the success of their business. When it came to security, respondents weren’t too concerned. Only 32 percent believed that messaging apps put business data at more risk, and 29 percent said that these messaging platforms represent a security risk which is ‘difficult to manage’.

Not to be outdone, Google is bolstering its communications offerings with the addition of Meet according to TechRadar. The full title of the app is Meet by Google Hangouts. This is a videoconferencing solution aimed at providing businesses with meetings that benefit from HD video.

Just as with Hangouts, you’ll be able to make group video calls, although in this case with up to 30 people taking part (triple the number allowed in Hangouts). Although Meet hasn’t been officially launched yet, TechCrunch spotted the product via its website which is now online.

The iOS app did go up for a short time, during which TechCrunch grabbed some details, including the fact that Meet will allow people on the move to use dial-in numbers – but this will only be available to G Suite Enterprise Edition users. Incidentally, the fate of Hangouts remains unclear in terms of whether it will stay as a video chat solution for consumers.

For more information, check out these posts:

Microsoft Teams is the Firm’s App-Filled Answer to Slack and HipChat

Google’s New G Suite Addition Ups the Ante for Videoconferencing

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Ryan Lahti is the founder and managing principal of OrgLeader, LLC. Stay up to date on Ryan’s STEM-based organization tweets here: @ryanlahti

(Photo: Microsoft, Flickr)

In building out the Internet of Things (IoT), the world is undergoing a transformation where nearly everything will be connected explains PK Agarwal, Regional Dean/CEO of Northeastern University-Silicon Valley and former CTO, in EE Times. The early Internet was a collection of documents. Websites served as online brochures or billboards. The second wave was an Internet of commerce when companies such as eBay and Amazon landed tens of billions of dollars in online sales. With the arrival of social media, the third wave became the Internet of people in which Facebook, for example, connects roughly a third of humanity to generate hundreds of billions of dollars.

Now, we are embarking on the fourth wave, the IoT which promises to dwarf every phase that came before it. The IoT can be defined as a network of physical devices including appliances, vehicles, buildings, warehouses, pipelines and other infrastructure fitted with sensors and actuators that enable the objects to collect and share data with a central controller.

IoT investments will top $6 trillion over the next five years, and some 24 billion IoT devices will be installed by 2020, according to Business Insider. Just this year alone, enterprises will spend $232 billion on initiatives to build out the IoT, according to International Data Corp.

Such market momentum is causing organizations to view IoT as increasingly strategic to their business growth. Yet developing a comprehensive IoT strategy still remains the biggest challenge for industry adoption, according to 46.3 percent of 200 IT professionals surveyed by Northeastern University-Silicon Valley at the recent Sensors Expo & Conference in San Jose, California.

Increased efficiency is the main reason that businesses are investing in IoT development, according to 38.3 percent of respondents, followed by the pursuit of a competitive market advantage (28.4 percent). Other drivers for IoT investment include market share growth (15.9 percent) and cost savings (14.9 percent).

Agarwal believes the best IoT strategy for organizations in the near term is to start with small pilot projects to gain some needed experience with IoT systems until specific business cases can be established and understood. In other words, start small and be prepared to fail, but then learn quickly from setbacks to fine-tune your approach to IoT.

With this in mind, let’s see what a couple companies that people do not historically associate with the Internet or Silicon Valley are doing. The first one is GE. GE is selling off its division that makes refrigerators and microwave ovens. It is now focused on electric power generators, jet engines, locomotives, and oil-refining gear. More importantly, it has made a significant bet on developing software to connect these devices to the Internet. GE believes its opportunity lies in what it calls the Internet of Really Big Things.

In the past five years, GE has hired hundreds of software developers, created its own operating system, and fashioned dozens of applications that it says will make planes fly more efficiently, extend the life of power generators, and allow trains to run faster. GE’s plan is to sell this software to other manufacturers of really big industrial things and to be a top 10 software company by 2020. The company says it had software sales of $5 billion in 2015, a sign that the Internet-of-really-big-things approach should be taken seriously.

Besides GE, Ford is serious about leveraging the potential opportunities IoT offers. Something of a pioneer in connectivity – back in 2012 it devised a system whereby cars could recognize and read out text messages via Bluetooth – the automotive giant has set up a dedicated wearables facility at the Ford Research and Innovation Center in Dearborn, Michigan. The researchers and engineers at the lab are looking into ways for vehicles to exploit data collected by wearable technologies and thinking how drivers can interact with connected devices.

Gary Strumolo, global manager for vehicle design and infotronics in Ford Research and Advanced Engineering explains, “The potential in this [IoT] space is endless. We’re evaluating many different wearable devices and applications – everything from helping to keep Ford drivers healthier and more aware behind the wheel to offering an enhanced customer experience at our dealerships.”

Creating an IoT strategy definitely is new territory for companies. Although it is new territory, companies believe that the potential of IoT beckons for them to put strategies in place. GE and Ford are prime examples.

Related posts:

The Internet of Things Deserves Your Attention

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Ryan Lahti is the founder and managing principal of OrgLeader, LLC. Stay up to date on Ryan’s STEM-based organization tweets here: @ryanlahti

(Photo: Pixabay)

How many of the apps on your smartphone do you really use? According to The Verge, a virtual assistant named Amy made by the New York City startup X.ai, exemplifies a new frontier in personal computing: the conversational smart bot. “There is a paradigm shift about to happen in how software is being delivered,” says Dennis Mortensen, the founder and CEO of X.ai. “I just don’t believe that apps is the future.” The data backs that up. Consumers are experiencing app fatigue: the average person downloads zero apps per month, and spends 80 percent of their time in just three of the apps they do use. That’s why an increasing number of developers are trying to circumvent the app store and reach consumers by making the basic email and messaging tools we use every day smarter.

As The Economist points out, users should find bots like Amy simpler to use. Installation takes seconds, and switching between bots does not involve tapping on another app icon. Much like web pages, they live on servers, not a user’s device, meaning they are easier to create and update. Facebook and Microsoft understand the potential of bots and are making a strong push into the bot space.

Because the new model for interaction is conversation, bots can easily be launched from open protocols like SMS or email. You don’t need to find Amy in the app store, make space for it on your smartphone home screen, or create a username and password. You would give it access to your Google account, CC it on your email, and it goes to work from there. “That’s one of the big advantages I see between bots and apps,” says Ben Brown, from the smart bot startup Howdy. “Let’s say I buy a plane ticket. The flight gets delayed and I get an SMS alert. But now I can reply to that message and ask questions. No downloading or discovery issues. No logins or passwords. I chat with the airline’s bot, and when I don’t need it anymore, it’s gone.”

While Amy is one of the newest bots, there are some at work that you may already know. Amazon’s Echo features a smart assistant named Alexa you can control with your voice. Like Cortana from Microsoft and Siri from Apple, Alexa is a command and control bot, a generalized artificial intelligence (AI) that can handle a variety of different tasks. It can also connect you to various smaller bots with a much more limited and focused repertoire: Alexa, call me an Uber. Alexa, play me this song on Spotify.

“Not all bots have AI, and not all AI is a bot,” says Brown. “What they do have in common is a reliance on conversation. Bots are a user interface to a service that is text or language based instead of based in a graphical user interface.” That is one of the reasons many bot builders believe it will be far cheaper for businesses to create bots than mobile apps. “There are only three million or so apps in the store,” says Shane Mac, CEO of Assist (a smart bot startup). “There will be ten or a hundred times more bots.”

Most of these bots won’t be as adaptable or conversationally fluent as Amy. “They will be search functions, powered by natural language —instead of filling out a form or running a search, you essentially interact with a search functionality by going back and forth in a conversational framework,” says Matt Turck, a venture capitalist who invested in X.ai. “You basically go back and forth to narrow down your choice, and the bot searches one or several databases to retrieve an answer.”

The way Mortensen sees it, there will be two classes of digital assistants, the broad and the specific, or as it he calls it, “horizontal and vertical AI.” Cortana and Siri are broad, horizontal AI: agents with a large, generalized knowledge of the world. You can ask them a lot of different questions, and they can handle a variety of situations, but they also get things wrong a lot. If X.ai ever plans to make money off Amy, it can’t afford to make the same mistakes. “We are hell-bent on being world class at this one thing – scheduling meetings. Not kind of half-assed at looking up a little bit of hotel rooms, doing a little bit of flights, no just really world class at scheduling meetings,” Mortensen says.

If you are tired of looking at a smartphone full of apps you don’t use, it looks like you may have another way of accomplishing tasks. Bots may become your new “doer” of tasks.

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Ryan Lahti is the founder and managing principal of OrgLeader, LLC. Stay up to date on Ryan’s STEM-based organization tweets here: @ryanlahti

(Photo: iPhone apps liquid, Flickr)

There has been a substantial increase this year in malicious software that affects Apple’s OS X operating system according to MarketWatch, GlobeNewswire and security firm Bit9 + Carbon Black. A 10-week analysis conducted by Bit9 + Carbon Black demonstrated the unprecedented growth in OS X malware. In 2015 alone, the research found that the number of OS X malware samples has been five times greater than in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 combined.

The Bit9 + Carbon Black Threat Research Team collected more than 1,400 unique OS X malware samples. The samples were aggregated from a variety of sources including the team’s independent research efforts, open sources, experience from incident response engagements involving OS X, peer research and black lists.

Compared to Microsoft users, Mac users have historically been immune to malware, but that is definitely changing. “Evidence of a more malicious OS X marketplace is clearly compounding and we confidently expect Mac OS X malware attacks to accelerate in the coming months,” explains Mike Sconzo, Bit9 + Carbon Black’s senior threat researcher. This acceleration is due in part to the growing popularity of Macs in the work environment which is providing a larger target for creators of malware.

For its analysis, the Bit9 + Carbon Black Threat Research Team utilized a custom-built sandbox to quickly identify common actions performed by malware, such as file creations and network communications. This enabled the team to look at command-and-control infrastructure as well as artifacts left as part of the malware execution. For more information, see Mac Malware Report.

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Ryan Lahti is the founder and managing principal of OrgLeader, LLC. Stay up to date on Ryan’s STEM-based organization tweets here: @ryanlahti

(Photo: MacBook Air, Flickr)

For all of you Skype users, be careful what you type when you send someone a link. Typing the wrong characters could crash the program for the person receiving the link and require reinstallation of Skype. According to VentureBeat, Skype users recently discovered a nasty bug in the app. Sending the characters “http://:” (without the quotes) crashes Skype, and receiving a message with those characters makes it crash any time you try to sign in again. The bug affects Windows, Android and iOS. It does not, however, seem to have any effect on Skype for Mac.

Bugs of this type do not seem to be limited to Skype. Recently, a bug of similar nature was able to disrupt the use of iPhones. As a recent Fortune article explains, a single line of text can freeze or shut down iPhones.

Technology blogs are reporting that a specific text message, when sent to an iPhone from any device, causes the phone to crash, shut down and restart. Unlike the previously mentioned Skype issue that could result from an accidental typo, the iPhone text message is not something people would happen to write in the course of a normal day. If someone texts it to you, they are likely doing it with malicious intentions. For the sake of iPhone users, the exact message is not provided, but it includes the words “effective” and “power” along with a string of characters containing Arabic and Chinese letters.

If you have encountered these bugs, Skype and Apple are providing potential solutions. Skype rolled out updates for its impacted products. For more information, go to the Skype Community Forum. Regarding the iPhone bug, Apple said it will provide a fix with an upcoming software update. In the meantime, some users have found that they can return the iPhone to normal by responding to the sender from a different device, like an iMessage-enabled Mac or iPad.

It is not clear whether the Skype and iPhone bugs were created by accident or by design. Nonetheless, these types of bugs are frustrating and something to continue to watch for given the impact they can have on popular software and devices.

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Ryan Lahti is the founder and managing principal of OrgLeader, LLC. Stay up to date on Ryan’s STEM-based organization tweets here: @ryanlahti

(Photo: The Skype Machine, Flickr)

According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft decided to abolish the fee to use the majority of the functions for its Office 365 mobile apps. Office 365 is the web/mobile version of Microsoft’s popular Office software suite. Prior to this announcement, individuals who wanted to create or revise Word documents, PowerPoint presentations or Excel spreadsheets on iPads, iPhones and Android devices had to purchase an Office 365 subscription. This subscription starts at approximately $70 per year for non-business users.

While you may be pleased with the increased accessibility to the Office 365 apps, you may also be wondering why Microsoft would provide this accessibility. This is not an altruistic move by Microsoft—it is a shift in strategy. John Case (corporate vice president of marketing for Microsoft Office) explains, “We want as many users as we can get. It’s becoming clearer to us, to continue to be the best paid solution, it’s also important to be the best free solution.”

Offering the mobile Office 365 for free is not a big revenue risk. Microsoft will continue to receive subscription fees for Office 365 software on laptops and desktops. Once they have the mobile versions on their devices, these Office 365 users are highly likely to want to use Mac or PC versions. Consequently, Microsoft will still obtain revenue from many of these individuals. The net result of these factors is the continued expansion of subscribers to consumer versions of Office 365. Since June 2013, this population has increased at a 7X rate. Given Microsoft’s new strategy, this rate should climb to a much higher level.

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Ryan Lahti is the founder and managing principal of OrgLeader, LLC. Stay up to date on Ryan’s STEM-based organization tweets here: @ryanlahti

Recently, the company has been softening its stance on real identities. This started after it received criticism from the LGBT community whose members believed that forcing the use of their real names did not consider their safety or their rights. Consequently, Facebook said individuals could use the names they go by in daily life as opposed to their legal names on its site. According to the The New York Times, Facebook is possibly taking another step in the direction of anonymity. Josh Miller, a Facebook product manager, is believed to be working on a stand-alone app that will allow Facebook users to discuss topics covered on the Internet under the protection of pseudonyms. Miller joined Facebook when it acquired Branch, his start-up that focused on developing small, online discussion groups.

This stand-alone app would provide members a forum to offer their perspectives on topics which they may not be comfortable connecting to their real names. Reuters reported that Facebook is considering a move into the healthcare arena by establishing online “support communities” for members who suffer from different illnesses. Since members may feel apprehensive about sharing their true identities while discussing their ailments, this app would be a natural fit. At this point, Facebook is not providing any details about the stand-alone app and how it would link to its main site nor is it commenting on its healthcare plans. Clearly, the steps Facebook is considering in the direction of anonymity and healthcare need to make business sense to justify making further efforts. Nonetheless, it is at least good to hear that the topics are being put on the table.

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Ryan Lahti is the founder and managing principal of OrgLeader, LLC. Stay up to date on Ryan’s STEM-based organization tweets here: @ryanlahti

In exploring this request further, it appears the agency wants a tool that will enable it to evaluate real-time data streams and old data as well as recognize those individuals who appear to be influencers in social media. Using this capability, the Secret Service would be able to separate out sneers, mockery and satire posted on Twitter, Facebook, etc. from legitimate potential threats. Therefore, this would prevent people stuck in rush-hour traffic who might vent their frustration in an unwise tweet about blowing up the freeway from being charged with making a terrorist threat.

Providing that this Secret Service software capability is able to walk the fine line between privacy and protection, it sounds like it could be a useful asset for the agency. If such cutting edge tools are going to be used, it would make sense to ensure the supporting tools are also up to date. Since the RFP indicates the software must be compatible with Internet Explorer 8, it might be time for an upgrade.

If you would like to see the full article by the Nextgov.com, click here: Secret Service Sarcasm Software

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Ryan Lahti is the founder and managing principal of OrgLeader, LLC. Stay up to date on Ryan’s STEM-based organization tweets here: @ryanlahti