After attending this year’s IBM World of Watson event in Las Vegas a few weeks ago, I was both stunned and overwhelmed by the advancements in artificial intelligence and cognitive. I have written about IBM and Watson several times over the last few years, but this year seems to be it’s coming out party. I remember when Watson was a contestant on the TV game show “Jeopardy.” It has grown leap years in the last five years.
What we think we know about AI mostly comes from the movies, TV and sci-fi, and it has been with us for quite a while. You remember Arnold Schwarzenegger as the “Terminator” saying, “I’ll be back.” You remember all the remakes and even the ride at Universal Studios amusement park. Add to that this year’s new “Westworld” remake into a cable TV series and “HUMANS.” Unfortunately, these shows don’t show the good parts of what AI and cognitive do. Instead, they capture the imagination as a horror story showing us what can go wrong.
The challenges AI and cognitive face
That’s the challenge today’s AI and cognitive industry faces today. How do you educate the masses? How do you change the minds of people, workers, investors, partners and customers or users that have been programmed the wrong way for quite a long time by Hollywood?
That’s the challenge today and from what I am learning from IBM and other players in this space, the AI and cognitive industry is up to the challenge. One thing we must understand is there are different levels of AI and cognitive. Think of it like different slices of the AI pie.
Apple Siri, Google Now and Microsoft Cortana are one slice of the AI pie. Today they are mostly considered simple AI technology that lets you surf the web with your voice. This will continue to grow and advance as time goes by.
Another level of AI is Google Home and Amazon Echo. This sits in the home or office and listens for its keyword to wake up and help. While this technology seems advanced compared to Siri, Now and Cortana, this makes some feel creepy. Knowing there is the equivalent of a camera and microphone connected to a company in the private places of their home and office is a lot for the average human to deal with.
With all that said, we can’t stop the AI parade. It’s growing faster than we could ever imagine and will continue to do just that. When we think about AI and cognitive, we must think about this new technology like a pie with different slices. Each technology and company will fit into one slice of that AI pie.
To IBM Watson AI means augmented intelligence
What IBM is doing with Watson is above and beyond what we think about when we think about AI. To IBM Watson, AI does not mean artificial intelligence. To IBM, AI means augmented intelligence. I think they call themselves this to be separate from the noise in the industry with every company shouting AI.
Every company wants to be thought of as a future oriented growth player. While that is good, they use terms like AI too freely and that dilutes the meaning of the term. That is unfortunate, but that’s what happens with all terms. Think terms like “4G” and “5G” as another example. Every wireless carrier uses them, but they are not all up to the same place.
IBM Watson is real player in AI and cognitive space
The World of Watson was stunning in the stories told. There were very important people on stage with IBM Chairman and President Ginni Rometty, who talked about how IBM Watson was now reaching critical mass; how it is building deeper human bonds and scaling human expertise; and how it is transforming industries. As amazing as this year’s event was, I cannot wait to see what World of Watson will present next year.
Guests on stage with Rometty were General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra talking about how Watson will make cars safer, more connected to your personal life and give you back time by understanding your priorities. And how this will start with 2017 cars, which are beginning to hit showrooms.
Another guest was U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr., who said IBM is helping to solve the mismatch between technical skills required by employers and the level of science, technology, engineering and mathematics taught in schools. There has been a real gulf growing in this sector.
Dr. Yitzhak Peterberg, chairman of the board at Teva, flew in from Israel to give a presentation with Rometty, where they discussed how Watson will transform his industry, and how it will help prevent chronic conditions like asthma attacks before they happen.
University of Tokyo Professor Satoru Miyano shared how Watson genomic analytics technology is helping to save the lives of cancer patients in Japan. Miyano told a touching and inspiring story of how Watson helped saved the life of a cancer patient.
The early companies working with Watson will have an early competitive advantage. Then as the technology matures and spreads, competitors will have to join the party or be left behind in the competitive dust.
IBM World of Watson is inspiring
The few days I spent at IBM World of Watson were truly amazing and inspiring. It went far beyond a marketing event. It was sci-fi reality, saving lives and making life better, today and into the future. There are opportunities here for so many investors, partners, leaders of different industries, workers and users.
I can see how AI and cognitive is going to continue to grow and become more important to every industry and field like automotive and health care. It’s going to transform e-commerce, the way business and governments and smart cities operate. It will aid the human brain in reading, digesting and coming up with new solutions.
A perfect example of this is the “60 Minutes” TV show in October that talked about Watson. They showed a real example of how Dr. Ned Sharpless, head of the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, reluctantly used Watson and found it was an incredible powerful tool.
As amazing as AI and cognitive really are, we must remember we are still in the very early days of this revolutionary technology that will change industry and affect us all. We have been part of other life changing technology waves like computers, cell phones, smartphones and so many others.
AI and cognitive at CES
At the upcoming CES event I will count how many companies use AI and cognitive. I expect to be overwhelmed. Most are using the terms without really using the technology yet. Only a few are real players in the space today.
One example, Samsung is expected to launch AI in next year’s smartphones. We’ll see if it’s real or just talk at this stage. There will be plenty of companies in this space, some real and others just using the terminology.
But, as important as each of those other sectors have been in transforming our lives, our society and our world, I get the strong sense that AI and cognitive may play an even larger and deeper role in coming years.
I look forward to continuing to following IBM Watson, AI and cognitive with all the other companies who are going to be players in this rapidly growing space. They will all continue to transform our world, the way we live, every industry, every job and our lives.
