Digital Revolution Chat (Recorded): AI & Digital Transformation News

In this session, we'll talk about the latest news from the dynamic intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation. 

From groundbreaking research to real-world applications, we'll explore how AI is reshaping industries, enhancing customer experiences, and driving innovation. Whether you're an intelligent tech enthusiast, an entrepreneur or  business leader.  join us as we decode the latest headlines and discuss the transformative power of AI in today's rapidly evolving landscape!

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Transcript

WELCOME to The Digital Revolution with Jim Kunkle, I appreciate you joining this LIVE chat session that’s broadcasting on LinkedIn and YouTube.  You can find “The Digital Revolution with Jim Kunkle” podcast on platforms like: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, i-Heart Radio, Amazon Music, and other platforms. So, after this chat session ends, I’d appreciate everyone checking out the podcast and consider following or subscribing.  Those who are following or subscribed to the podcast, Thank You for your support. 

In today's session, we'll talk about the latest news from the dynamic intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation. From groundbreaking research to real-world applications, we'll explore how AI is reshaping industries, enhancing customer experiences, and driving innovation. Whether you're an intelligent tech enthusiast, an entrepreneur or  business leader.  join us as we decode the latest headlines and discuss the transformative power of AI in today's rapidly evolving landscape!

This session broadcast is made possible with the amazing LIVE streaming, audio and video recording + webinar platform solution from StreamYard.  Here’s why you should consider using StreamYard as a content creator or webinar host. 

StreamYard link: https://streamyard.com/pal/c/5142511674195968 

LIVE Chat Podcast Topic 
“Before I set-up today’s session, I’d like to cover how you can participate in this LIVE session…It's easy, all you have to do is post comments and questions that I will show on this broadcast and comment on or answer your questions.  Also please “SMASH The LIKE!”

This session will be available as an archived recording on LinkedIn and YouTube…after the LIVE stream ends. 
Our topic is: “AI & Digital Transformation In The News”.

NEWS TOPIC #1
Link: https://techcrunch.com/2024/07/14/the-ai-financial-results-paradox/ 

For our first story, titled “The AI Financial Results Paradox”, by Ron Miller and appearing in Tech Crunch .com 

In today's rapidly evolving landscape, there's a consensus that generative AI will profoundly transform businesses. Those who fail to embrace it risk being left behind. However, companies seeking proof of AI's impact on business performance and revenue can't rely solely on vendor promises. The challenge lies in directly correlating AI adoption, such as Microsoft Copilot with tangible outcomes. Chief Investment Officers grapple with the dilemma: invest in game-changing AI without immediate results or risk irrelevance. While some liken this moment to the shift from steam to electricity, uncertainty remains. Savvy startups or consulting giants like Deloitte and McKinsey may hold the answers, but at a cost. As Jerry Garcia from the Greatful Dead once sang, "You can't go back, and you can't stand still." CIOs must decide whether they're marching toward the future or throwing money after uncertainty. Remember, the lightning won't wait! 

Let’s get into this article, I’ll add some additional commentary as we go through it.

This article starts off stating: There is a general consensus today that generative AI is going to transform business in a profound way, and companies and individuals who don’t get on board will be quickly left in the dustbin of history.

At the same time, as companies delve more deeply into this technology, they want proof, actual business metrics, that show how AI is actually improving business performance and revenue.

They can’t and shouldn’t trust vendor promises alone. Yet it’s not easy to make a direct correlation between something like, say, Microsoft Copilot, and overall business performance.

Should CIOs simply take it on faith, then? In this week’s Clouded Judgment newsletter, investor Jamin Ball suggests that most businesses might not have a choice. In his view, they might not see the results for some time, leaving them to make a very tough buying decision.

Here’s Ball’s take: Right now the world is evolving, AI is a massive platform shift. And by NOT adopting / spending on it, you risk losing market share and slowly becoming irrelevant. Because your competitors are investing in AI efforts, you also have to invest in AI efforts. At the end of the day these investments might not immediately result in better business outcomes, more importantly more revenue right this minute, but they certainly lead to better end user experiences. And very well may lead to better “other” metrics like retention or churn. If your competitors are building better end user experiences and you’re not, then you may find yourself in trouble in the short / medium term.

Let me add my perspective on this ROI thought. 
This is a leap of faith decision: the allure of artificial intelligence and its long-term potential versus the immediate hunger for those juicy, tangible returns. It's like choosing between a slow-cooked stew that'll warm your soul over time or a quick microwave meal that satisfies your hunger right now.

AI ROI is a fascinating beast. It's like trying to measure the exact impact of a good cup of coffee on your productivity, it's there, but it's elusive. Here's the scoop:

1. Hard ROI vs. Soft ROI:
Hard ROI: This one's the accountant's favorite. It's all about dollars and cents. When you invest in AI, the benefits should eventually outweigh the costs. Think of it as the financial ratio of gain or loss relative to what you put in. Hard ROI comes from various sources:
-Time savings: AI automates repetitive tasks, like processing invoices or sorting through data. Less manual drudgery means more time for strategic thinking.
-Productivity increases: AI assists human decision-making, making us sharper. Whether it's faster execution or better choices, productivity goes up.
-Cost savings: Sometimes, fewer hours spent mean fewer employees needed. But beware: reducing task time by 20% might just lead your employee to find a new hobby during that saved time.
Soft ROI: This one's a bit more elusive. It's like measuring the joy of a sunny day       or the satisfaction of a perfectly timed punchline. Soft ROI considers broader benefits:
Employee satisfaction and retention: Happier employees stick around. And happy employees are like well-watered plants, they bloom.
Skills acquisition: AI adoption often means upskilling your team. Smarter folks = better results.
     - Brand enhancement: AI can polish your brand's shoes, making it shine brighter.
     - Higher company valuation: Investors love a tech-savvy company. AI can nudge that   valuation needle.
   
2. The Time Warp Effect:
AI isn't a one-night stand; it's a long-term relationship. The gains might not show up in your quarterly report, but they'll permeate your organization over time. It's like planting a tree, you don't expect instant shade, but years down the line, you'll be grateful for that leafy canopy.
So, measure AI's performance continuously. Don't let the value decay like an old banana in the back of your pantry. Budget for maintenance, it's like watering that tree and trimming its branches.

3. Unlocking Potential:
Remember, the true merit of AI lies in its transformative potential. It's not just about saving a few bucks today; it's about creating new opportunities tomorrow. Improved customer experiences, revenue transformation, those are the gems hidden in the AI mine.

NEWS TOPIC #2
Link: https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/20/24159258/microsoft-recall-ai-explorer-windows-11-surface-event 

Our next story is “Recall is Microsoft’s Key to Unlocking The Future of PCs” by Umar Shakir with The Verge .com 

Umar Shakir's article on "Recall," a pivotal feature for Copilot+ PCs in Windows 11. This tool meticulously tracks your computer activities, capturing everything you see and do. However, early testing revealed significant security vulnerabilities, sparking heated discussions. In its initial form, Recall stored screenshots and maintained an unencrypted plaintext database of user actions. Shockingly, anyone, even without administrator access, could compromise this data. Privacy concerns escalated, and rightly so.
Microsoft swiftly responded to the backlash. Here are the major changes they're implementing before Recall's official release:

1. “Opt-In by Default”: Recall will no longer grab your data without consent. Users must actively enable it, ensuring better privacy control.

2. “Enhanced Encryption”: To fortify data protection, Recall now requires Windows Hello authentication. Whether via face scanning, fingerprint, or PIN, you'll need to verify your identity each time you access Recall. Both screenshots and the underlying SQLite database are encrypted, thwarting unauthorized access.

These adjustments address the critical issues, making Recall a safer tool for users. It's a step toward unlocking the future of PCs while safeguarding our digital lives. Let’s drill-down on the article. Also, as in the first article, I’ll be adding my commentary. 

Here’s what Umar has in his article:
Microsoft’s launching Recall for Copilot Plus PCs, a new Windows 11 tool that keeps track of everything you see and do on your computer and, in return, gives you the ability to search and retrieve anything you’ve done on the device.

The scope of Recall, which Microsoft has internally called AI Explorer, is incredibly vast, it includes logging things you do in apps, tracking communications in live meetings, remembering all websites you’ve visited for research, and more. All you need to do is perform a “Recall” action, which is like an AI-powered search, and it’ll present a snapshot of that period of time that gives you context of the memory.

As a matter of fact, everything you do on the PC appears on an explorable timeline you can scroll through. You can also search live meetings and videos thanks to Live Captions, which transcribes and even translates speech.

If this technology sounds familiar, Microsoft tried something less powerful in Windows 10 with Timeline but discontinued the feature in 2021. It’s also because there’s already a very similar app for Mac called Rewind. The software works on M-series Macs and, like Recall, logs everything you do, listens to all of your meetings, and gives you access to a chatbot to recall anything. With Recall, however, you’re getting deep, native integration into Windows, while Rewind is a third-party app you have to install and hand over system permissions.
Recall won’t work with every Windows 11 computer. You’ll have to buy one of several fresh new “Copilot Plus PCs” powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X Elite chips, which have the neural processing unit (NPU) required for Recall to work.

NEWS TOPIC #3
Link: https://www.therobotreport.com/skild-ai-grabs-300m-to-build-foundation-ai-model-for-robotics/ 

OK, story #3 is about robotics from The Robot Report .com by Mike Oitzman and titled “Skild AI Grabs $300M to Build Foundation Model For Robotics”.
Skild AI recently emerged from stealth mode, announcing a $300 million Series A round that brings its valuation to $1.5 billion. Their mission? To tackle one of the most significant goals in current technology: embodied intelligence. Here's the scoop:

1. The Goal: Skild AI aims to create an intelligent device capable of learning and reacting to the world on its own. Think of it as a shared, general-purpose brain for robots.

2. The Approach: Unlike many robotics startups that take a vertical market approach, Skild is pursuing a horizontal model. They're building a foundation model that can be applied across diverse robot embodiments and real-world scenarios.

3. Data Power: Skild claims to train its model on at least 1,000 times more data points than competing models. This massive dataset will enable the use of low-cost robots across various industries.

4. Applications: From resilient quadrupeds navigating adverse conditions to vision-based humanoids deftly manipulating objects, Skild's model promises unparalleled generalization and capabilities.

In a world where robots are becoming increasingly integral, Skild AI's ambitious vision could reshape how we interact with intelligent machines.

Let’s get into the article.
A new wave of startups is emerging to apply recent artificial intelligence advances into more sophisticated robot behavior. Yesterday, Skild AI emerged from stealth mode and announced that it has closed a $300 million Series A round. The Pittsburgh-based company said the funding brings its valuation of $1.5 billion.

Skild AI is chasing one of the most significant goals in current technology: embodied intelligence, creating an intelligent device that can learn and react to the world on its own. The company is developing the Skild Brain, a robotics foundation model, as well as a mobile manipulation platform and a quadruped platform for security and inspection.

There are primarily two approaches to developing an embodied AI solution. Each approach has its pros and cons.

Vertical approach
With a vertical market approach, you find a market problem, design a mechanism to solve the problem, and train a bespoke AI brain (or model) to operate the mechanism. This might also be called the specialist approach, and it is the approach that many robotics startups have taken.

This approach lowers the risk and provides more control over the outcomes, plus complete control of the intellectual property. In the current humanoid robot race, each participant is trying to design a unique mechanism and embodied intelligence.

Horizontal approach
With a horizontal market approach, you create a broadly intelligent system that is capable of learning any task and then make it capable of being deployed to control any mechanism. This is the path to artificial general intelligence (AGI), but it could also be called the foundation model approach, as a foundation model can serve a general class of problems while not being a vast AGI. This is the path that Skild is taking.

Skild AI joins companies such as OpenAI, Covariant, and NVIDIA that are attempting to build a foundation model that can be applied to multiple applications, irrespective of the mechanical design of the mechanism.

OK, let me provide my commentary on foundation models, those sturdy pillars upon which the awesomeness of artificial intelligence rests.

Foundation models sound complex, just understand that they are like the Swiss Army knives of the AI world. Trained on massive datasets, they're large neural networks that have been flexing their artificial muscles in the gym of machine learning. But what makes them special? Well, let me break it down for you:

1. Adaptability: These models are the chameleons of the AI jungle. They can perform a wide range of tasks with surprising accuracy, all based on the input prompts they receive. Think natural language processing, question answering, and even image classification. They're not your run-of-the-mill specialists; they're the Jacks and Jills of all trades.

2. Generalization: Foundation models are like the Renaissance artists of the AI canvas. They're trained on a broad spectrum of generalized and unlabeled data, which means they can handle a variety of tasks, understanding language, generating text and images, and even engaging in natural language conversations.

3. Size Matters: These models have been bulking up over the years. Remember BERT? It was one of the Olde Guard bidirectional foundation models, strutting its stuff back in 2018 with a mere 340 million parameters. Fast-forward to 2023, and OpenAI drops GPT-4 on the scene, flexing a whopping 170 trillion parameters and a 45 GB training dataset. Computational power requirements have been doubling since 2012!

4. Use Cases Galore: So, what can you do with these AI Swiss Army knives? Well, everything from customer support (because who doesn't love a chatbot that actually understands you?) to language translation, content generation, copywriting, and even high-res image creation. They're like the ultimate party guests, show up, dazzle everyone, and then whip up a social media post while sipping their virtual cocktails.

And why are they important? Because they're like shortcuts for data scientists. Instead of painstakingly training unique models from scratch, which costs more than a private island these days, they can grab a pre-trained FM and build new machine learning applications on top of it. Now That’s Efficient!

NEWS TOPIC #4
Link: https://venturebeat.com/ai/can-we-please-stop-talking-about-replacing-employees-with-ai/ 

Our final article is an important read for everyone worried about the impact of artificial intelligence on today’s jobs. This article is from Gershon Goern from Venture Beat .com and titled “Can We Please Stop Talking About Replacing Employees with AI?

Let me read what Gershon covered and I’ll add my perspectives.
An online retailer recently underwent an AI transformation after it realized it no longer needed to employ an expensive local workforce to provide customer support. They split their customer support between AI bots serving as the first tier of support and an offshore team to which AI could escalate calls, functioning as a second tier of support. Its operational costs dropped precipitously, but so did the quality of service and sales.

This is just one example of the trendiest conversation in every boardroom, event and trade conference. More than anything, executives want to know when they can finally replace employees who require benefits, vacations, mental health programs, promotions and professional development and replace them with an army of AI bots. And we need to talk about this.

The chopping block includes roles like customer support, software developers, copywriters and content creators, marketing managers, forklift operators, drivers and more. The latest edition to this extinction list is no less than the CEO, says The New York Times. I’m less concerned about this, though, because we CEOs are still the ones deciding who gets replaced by AI.

Let’s augment, not replace - here’s my input on this news topic:
Believe it or not this is an age-old question: Will AI be our trusty sidekick or the usurper of our job titles? 

First off, it's essential to recognize that AI isn't a monolithic force out to snatch our livelihoods. It's more capable of both automating tasks and enhancing human abilities. So, not only in my opinion…but a majority of technology experts, AI is more likely to be our ally than our adversary:

1. Complementary Skills: AI excels at repetitive, data-intensive tasks. Think crunching numbers, analyzing patterns, and sifting through vast amounts of information. By taking over these mundane chores, it frees up humans to focus on what we do best: creativity, empathy, and complex problem-solving.
Imagine an AI-powered assistant handling routine paperwork while you brainstorm innovative solutions or connect with clients. It's like having a diligent intern who never complains about coffee runs!

2. Upskilling and Reskilling:
AI can be our personal tutor. It offers reskilling opportunities by identifying gaps in our knowledge and suggesting relevant courses or resources.
For instance, if you're a radiologist, AI won't replace you, it'll enhance your skills. It can analyze medical images faster and more accurately, allowing you to focus on patient care and diagnosis.

3. Human-AI Collaboration:
Picture this: You're working on a complex project, and your AI colleague suggests alternative approaches based on historical data. Together, you create something brilliant.
AI doesn't replace us; it complements our abilities. It's like having a co-pilot who helps navigate the skies of productivity.

4. The Last Job Standing: Human Feedback Provider:
Here's the twist: While AI might take over most roles eventually, there's one job it can't fully replicate, the role of a "human feedback provider."
We're the ones who tell AI what's right, wrong, or downright confusing. We guide its learning process, ensuring it aligns with our values and intentions.
So, in the grand AI opera, our encore performance will be providing feedback. Not too shabby, right?

5. AI in HR and Professional Development:
AI isn't just about automating tasks; it's also revolutionizing human resources. It helps match candidates with the right jobs, streamlines hiring processes, and even assists in creating job descriptions.
Plus, it's a fantastic coach! Imagine an AI whispering to me saying, "Jim, your negotiation skills need work. Try this online course!" 

Thank you for joining in on this informative LIVE chat session on “AI & Digital Transformation In The News”. I hope you found this session informative and engaging. Stay tuned for more exciting discussions on the latest trends and developments from “The Digital Revolution with Jim Kunkle”. This concludes this LIVE chat session.

Alright on the way out let me play an AI generated song from Suno for this episode. The song “Digital Blues” is all about this episode about the news.

OK, have a great evening, afternoon or morning no matter where you're listening from.