Why is everyone saying, ‘Data is the new Oil’? Not too long ago, Oil companies ruled the globe. It was the resources that fueled the industrial revolution and was the world’s most valuable asset. Geopolitics were driven by Oil and without it, economies would collapse. Fast forward to today and companies like Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon are now worth a combined $4 Trillion. Yes, Trillion. They are now the most valuable companies in the world, and they all collect data about everything including you and I. They are hiring our best and brightest right out of university and are investing Billions of dollars in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
What is Artificial Intelligence? Am I referring to the Terminator or HAL from 2001 a Space Odyssey where machines can think by themselves and are sentient? No. The common belief among experts is that this level of technology is still beyond our lifetimes. Although there is a lot of coverage in the media right now around AI, it’s important to understand what is real and what is hype.
The main reason AI has advanced rapidly in the last several years happened in our own backyard. A professor at the University of Toronto, Geoffrey Hinton, PhD is credited with the creation of techniques used to create artificial neural networks that loosely model the way human brain works and learns. With this technology, AI can now do some remarkable thinks.
It’s revolutionizing security with facial recognition and object detection. Security guards can now be alerted when a criminal enters a building or if the image of a gun is detected on the street. It’s even used to detect anomalies in airplane engines and also tells farmers the best time to harvest crop based on analysis of real time images of the fields. Companies like Amazon are combining costumer past purchases, with social media monitoring and demographic information to suggest the most likely item you would like to buy next. By 2030, these AI techniques are predicted to create $6 Trillion in economic value.
It is most likely that AI will affect most industries and will complement other technology advancements like sensors and machines. I’m looking at investing in a company that combines sensors with AI to detect heartrate and health. This can be used to help healthcare service workers manage the coming volume of demand from our healthcare system. In fact, the most successful businesses will be the ones that understand these technologies and how to use them to grow their companies.
AI will also mean change and could have a profound impact on our current job market. Transportation will be affected by driverless vehicles by combining sensors like LIDAR and AI. This could impact million jobs in North America including long haul delivery and other business like the taxi industry including UBER. Repetitive tasks like data entry and book keeping could be completely eliminated. New jobs will also be created in the field of robotics, data science and sensors. AI will also change jobs and create new roles within companies. As a government and economy, we have to prepare and have a strategy for this disruptive transition. Re-training, new educational programs and the appropriate funding will be critical.
Like the cryptocurrency market, the companies that are all hype will fall away and give away to those that deliver true value. I’ll end by saying that 2 things that I know to be true.
- We are creating more and more digital data at an exponential rate.
- Investments in AI will continue to grow either via government sponsorship (China) or private corporations (US – Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, etc.)
This will only accelerate change and disruption on a global scale. We are living in a digital economy. Data is the new oil. AI is the electricity. It will give us robots and driverless cars and change the way we live, work and play.
Who will be the new Saudi Arabia?
This will only accelerate change and disruption on a global scale. We are living in a digital economy. Data is the new oil. AI is the electricity. It will give us robots and driverless cars and change the way we live, work and play.
Who will be the new Saudi Arabia?
John Chung
Redes Sociais - Comentários