Work Musings...

I would like to post updates here with samples of some of my data science work. This is the first post of such work done in R and published on RPubs http://rpubs.com/Prabha/National_Parks_1

This is the AI panel discussion content post. The panel was sponsored by RSM. George Casey  - Panel Moderator, Principal at RSM Larry Fulton  - Professor of Data Science at Texas State University Dale Sayers  - Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft The discussion centered around the current use and best practices of ML/AI in industry. Here are some of the key takeaways and my thoughts from the panel discussion. This is also based on follow-up conversations with various members of the audience. 1. AI/ML application, implementation is still low and unclear to most organizations Based on my interaction with people at this conference, the companies present were closer to the beginning of the AI/ML journey. To be honest, there were not a lot of pointed questions from the audience. The discussions were more around specific software tools - ML/AI is not a piece of software or a toolset. The application of AI/ML has to align with the strategies of each organization and ...

Public speaking has been an aspirational goal. I've not had too much opportunity before nor have I actively sought it out. It was this 'thing' that looked sooooo cool and people doing it were really cool! However, there was a fear of failure that was overwhelming enough for me to not make that leap - public failure, nonetheless :) In the last year or so, I have applied to speak at a few conferences on the topic of Analytics/Artificial Intelligence(AI)/Machine Learning(ML) applied in the space of Supply Chain Management. What I have learned in many cases is that the conference organizers are engaged in a 'Pay for Play' scheme. A speaking slot is up for sale with the purchase of a display booth or being a sponsor of the whole conference. I am not judging the conference organizers - I fully realize, agree and support the commercial realities of putting on a show. The shock was the pervasiveness of this model and that clash against my naivety.  An opportunity poppe...

Last week, I was happy to attend a conference on AI in San Francisco - AI Summit SF 2019 . There were some good talks at the conference. Here is  a summary of some learning, highlights and take-away from this conference. 1. ML/AI advantages and value are real:   Companies are creating tangible value from 'institutionalizing' AI technology to their competitive advantage.  The trend is seen to be spreading across the various large corporations much beyond the major players . There was a good presentation from American Express on how AI was used to create 90+% (!!!) efficiency in their Analytics team work. However, the Big Four are clear leaders in this space 2. Competitive Differentiation and Enterprise Adoption:   KPMG made a good presentation on top trends in AI space and key takeaway here is that AI will be a key differentiation in competitive landscape of various industry verticals (Not exactly breaking news). 3. Stumbling blocks: The third topic is a li...

Hello World! Some introduction is in order 😀. I am Prabhakar, a mid-level manager in a fairly large company. For the last 9 months or so, I've been wanting to start a work related blog. A valid excuse for the last 4+ months can be our new daughter! But, I have no excuses for the ~ 5 months prior to that. Lately for work, my main interest topics have been in the field of Data Science, AI, ML and building a team to execute on these technologies. It's been slow going, to say the least. On a personal level, it is super exciting to be involved in this focus area at work in my company. There is a bit of a pioneering spirit involved as a lot of the projects being worked on are treading new ground, raising a bunch of questions and creating opportunity. And, I like to hike and be outside. So, will make this blog more enjoyable with some random pictures - this is a recent one from last week @  Marina State Beach, Monterey CA .