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
IBM
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
The rise of the cognitive PR machines
Within two years, 20 percent of business content will be authored by machines or "robo writers," as Gartner puts it in its list of ten predictions of an algorithmic and smart machine-driven world that the analyst firm published last October. It was a topic I used as a focal point in my presentation about PR measurement and how it's getting smarter partly through automation that captured close attention from the 50+ PR pros in the audience at a CIPR event in London last week. Content that is … [Read more...] about The rise of the cognitive PR machines
The journey of Convergence
Recently, I wrote about email as one of the elements in transforming an organization into a social, collaborative enterprise. A classic example is the role Atos' zero-email program plays in such an exercise. While I cited Atos in my post as part of the concluding point I wanted to make that email is (or can be) an enabler for social business - and which must have the "it depends..." filter added - the conclusion isn't the key point here. What I think is more significant, and which requires … [Read more...] about The journey of Convergence
Changing gears with IBM
I’ve been thinking a lot about social business lately. About what it is – broadly, focused on people (behaviours, mindsets) and organizations (culture, vision, leadership) – and about what it isn’t (an extension of, or level up from, social media). For the past dozen years, I’ve been directly and actively involved in one way or another in social media and social business, as a consultant, as a client, as an experimenter, as an early adopter (and leaver), as an influencer, and … [Read more...] about Changing gears with IBM
IBM delivers the experience at Wimbledon 2015
The picture above is of a landmark that's well known by fans of the Wimbledon Championships tennis tournament that is taking place in London right now. It's Henman Hill, the grassy mound smack in the middle of the Wimbledon venue, nicknamed thus for the now-retired British player Tim Henman. It's packed with people - and usually more than than you see here - enjoying the live tennis on huge screens at the side of Number 1 Court to the right, just out of the view, or having a picnic in the … [Read more...] about IBM delivers the experience at Wimbledon 2015
The arrival of the dystopian workplace
Maybe it's because I'm currently reading 1984 by George Orwell on my Kindle - the first time I've read the book since the early 1980s - but this report in The Wall Street Journal that an IBM security tool can flag "disgruntled employees" struck me as a bit, well, Orwellian. […] The new tool, called IBM Security Intelligence with Big Data, is designed to crunch decades worth of emails, financial transactions and website traffic, to detect patterns of security threats and fraud. Beyond its more … [Read more...] about The arrival of the dystopian workplace
The prime hurdles of social business
The notion of an organization being a "social business" is one that's been talked about for the past few years, often focusing on social media tools and channels - social networks, Twitter, blogs, etc - that people can use to connect with other people in a manner that's more authentic that the rigidity, formality and control of marketing and public relations and instead is, well, social. The concept has evolved quickly and today, more influential voices are looking closely at people's … [Read more...] about The prime hurdles of social business