Among the big topics that will dominate the news in 2017, a prominent one will undoubtedly be artificial intelligence or AI. It's a huge topic, one that gathered momentum in 2016 to grab our attention and showcase both opportunity and risk with news and opinion often focused on a dystopian future that has plans to eliminate jobs currently done by human beings and replace them with robots. (Or maybe not.) Wherever you look, there's so much differing opinion on the impact of AI and … [Read more...] about How to put AI into cognitive perspective
IBM
Understanding the four types of AI, from reactive robots to self-aware beings
The common, and recurring, view of the latest breakthroughs in artificial intelligence research is that sentient and intelligent machines are just on the horizon. Machines understand verbal commands, distinguish pictures, drive cars and play games better than we do. How much longer can it be before they walk among us? By Arend Hintze, Michigan State University The new White House report on artificial intelligence takes an appropriately skeptical view of that dream. It says the next 20 … [Read more...] about Understanding the four types of AI, from reactive robots to self-aware beings
The automotive future isn’t self-driving… Not yet
When the topic of artificial intelligence and cars gets discussed - it's a topic of frequent discussion online these days - it's often in the single context of self-driving cars. While Google is a lead in many discussions about self-driving experimentation (where a car is largely driven and controlled by a wide range of technologies), electric sports car maker Tesla gets a lot of press due to its stylish sports cars that capture imaginations with their high speeds, market-leading battery … [Read more...] about The automotive future isn’t self-driving… Not yet
Enhance your skills with cognitive PR
Get set for increased automation and bot use in public relations, says Toby Daniels, founder of Social Media Week, in an interview with PR Week magazine. He says: The most significant thing that will happen in the next 12 to 24 months, particularly for PR, is the automation of communication - where bots and chatbots in particular start to step in and take over an aspect of communication, particularly in terms of how businesses communicate with customers. This is a topic that's in the … [Read more...] about Enhance your skills with cognitive PR
A checkpoint conversation on AI and machine learning in PR
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are two subjects in which I've long had interest, especially as they relate to organizational change, people's behaviours and communication, and the future of work. This keen interest is a prime reason why I joined IBM earlier this year, and has intensified as I've got to know a great deal about cognitive computing and, of course, IBM Watson. They are both areas where I have some clear views on what this means for organizational communication … [Read more...] about A checkpoint conversation on AI and machine learning in PR
Give your chatbot some real personality
Chatbots are all the rage at the moment. These clever computer programs (algorithms, to be more precise) are popping up everywhere online to help you with mundane tasks from getting a weather forecast or currency exchange rate to travel planning to online shopping. Organizations everywhere are experimenting with these useful bits of technology, with varying degrees of success as part of the learning process (remember what happened to Microsoft's Tay earlier this year?). If you use Siri … [Read more...] about Give your chatbot some real personality
Meet the omni-channel experience that is Wimbledon 2016
The Championships, Wimbledon 2016 started yesterday, June 27, and run until July 10. During these two weeks of intense competition, Wimbledon and the competing players will be names and brands in an event that will not only be on television screens large and small across the globe in real time and recorded, but also available and accessible on myriad devices, from smartwatches to big-screen PCs, almost anything that can connect to the global internet any time anywhere. To be sure, there's … [Read more...] about Meet the omni-channel experience that is Wimbledon 2016
Re-imagine IBM
Last December, when I started telling friends that I would be joining IBM as a full-time employee, I received some mixed responses. Of course, all were well-wishing but some came with quizzical looks and the question "IBM? I couldn't imagine you at IBM!" It turns out that the question was based on a view about me as a communicator, and about IBM and what the company does that was out of date. That view was based on what IBM largely was in the late 20th century and turn of the 21st whose … [Read more...] about Re-imagine IBM