IBM asked me to give a speech at its World of Watson event this week. In preparing my remarks, I realized what I will be talking about is so important, yet most don’t understand what is happening. It’s about artificial intelligence, the “internet of things,” virtual reality and so much more. It’s industry changing. It’s life altering. A once-in-a-lifetime shift in the way we communicate, gain, share and distribute information. And we are just in the first inning of this game.
If you will be there, I look forward to saying hello in person. If not, let me share with you a few key points I will be discussing. Every person, every company and every government needs to understand what is happening. The world is changing and we all need to work together to bring this promise to reality.
Smart cities, smart companies, smart homes
Artificial intelligence technology like IBM Watson is astounding. And, if we pull the camera back, we can see a much larger landscape of technology that will transform our world. Smart cities, smart companies, smart everything is coming on strong. Whether you are a competitor, employee, investor or user, this is so important to understand.
Since I come from the wireless, telecom, television and internet side of the house, that is what my comments will focus on – blending the networks with technology like AI. However, it’s important to look at the larger picture. Doing that you can see how AI is also moving very quickly into industry after industry.
 Movies and TV like ‘Westworld’ and ‘Humans’
We’ve been talking about AI forever. There have been countless sci-fi movies for decades and the newer ones look awfully convincing. The new version of “Westworld” is one of them. There is even a new TV series called “Humans.” AI has been the topic of movies, TV and books forever. We have seen it so much we think it’s just sci-fi, but AI is real. And we are going to be hearing much more about AI going forward.
That’s what IBM Watson is all about. Ever use Siri on your Apple iPhone? What about Google Now or Microsoft Cortana? What about when you call for customer service and have to talk to the computer and it can understand what you are saying? Or those telemarketing calls from computers that sound so human. If you have used any of these, then you are already using AI technology. That’s right. And there are countless ways we all currently use AI.
IBM Watson, Apple Siri, Google Now, Microsoft Cortana are all AI
AI is the future yes, but AI is today as well. It’s here, now. It has been talked about for decades and it has been with us for many years. Consider AI today like the Ford Model T of 100 years ago. That was new and exciting at the time, but so primitive compared with today.
Nearly every forward-thinking industry segment and company is beginning to work with AI technology. Yet we are still in the very early, crawling stages of AI advancement. It all sounds so cool and it takes our breath away, but this is just the very basic and very early stages.
Wireless analyst, telecom analyst speech at IBM World of Watson
IBM Watson is amazing. It is helping industry after industry get better. Think about health care. It can read and analyze countless reports, articles and research, and can make recommendations that ordinary doctors simply don’t have the time sort through. Once recommendations are made, the doctors can review and approve or no, but this tool is incredibly important to keep us healthy.
And remember, we are still in the very early, Model T era of AI. There is so much growth ahead. This is an enormous opportunity for investors, workers, executives, companies and users. This is an incredible revolution.
To bring the most value from AI into existence, we must tie it all together. AI needs to communicate. Communicate with other computers. Communicate with us. Communicate wirelessly and over wires. That’s why networks like wireless, telecom, television, the internet and IoT will play an increasingly important role going forward.
AT&T Time Warner merger, AI and the cloud
I attended the AT&T Industry Analyst Summit a few weeks ago and they touched on the importance and value of AI as one of many growth engines. And this is absolutely true. AI is an incredible growth opportunity for the entire communications industry. It is transformative.
AT&T just announced its planned acquisition of Time Warner. If you think about how AT&T acquired DirecTV last year then introduced mobile TV over its AT&T Mobility network, I think you can see how this is a rapidly growing and transformative company. As we move into tomorrow, companies like this will introduce new ideas and services using AI, IoT, VR, the cloud and much more.
AI needs wireless, telecom, TV, internet, IoT to connect
What I am about to say is for every investor, worker, executive, company, regulator and city. Most don’t realize how important AI will be going forward. It’s time to educate yourselves and get on board before this train leaves the station and leaves you behind.
I fully expect every company will be getting onboard with AI. It’s too important to sit out. Too transformative. Companies large and small that embrace AI will win. Companies that don’t, will simply wither away.
So are you going to be a leader or a follower? New companies will be created and new opportunities will be started. Some small companies that no one has heard of yet – or may not even exist today – will be leaders going forward.
AI is growth opportunity for large and small companies
Winners will understand the technology, marketing, investment, regulations and so much more. A simple good idea is not enough any longer. There will be plenty of winners and losers in AI.
However, this is an enormous opportunity for certain companies that connect us all in different ways. Wireless and wire line companies like AT&T, Verizon Communications, Sprint, T-Mobile US, CenturyLink, Comcast, Charter, Apple, Google and even social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and countless other large and small.
Embrace AI or your company will fall behind
Embracing AI if you are a network of any kind, will open up enormous growth opportunities. We have seen some companies embrace new technology and ideas many times in the past and I expect they will continue to do so going forward. We also have seen many companies miss the transformation and become irrelevant.
Any way you slice it, AI is real. AI is growing. AI is important. And AI needs to communicate. So for the computing industries and the communications industries, AI is an enormous growth opportunity.
