Startups are often encouraged to fail fast and fail often. In the world of AI and big data that philosophy is actually critical to creating successful outcomes, according to Scott Weller, co-founder and CTO, SessionM, who will present a talk, titled “The Role of Failure in Succeeding with Big Data.”
Data Summit 2018 will take place at the Hyatt Regency Boston, May 22-23, with pre-conference workshops on Monday, May 21. Cognitive Computing Summit will also be co-located at the event.
Just as with video games where players learn to succeed by failing, even if they have to “die” to do so, AI software must consider a multitude of combinations and possibilities—including some that may result in dreaded worst-possible scenarios—in order to ultimately succeed. The problem, Weller contends, is that AI and machine learning technologies have been presented as a magic wand that will automatically create immediate success for marketers.
Weller hopes that Data Summit attendees will come away from his talk with a sense of the processes involved in using analytics and AI to create optimal scenarios, and an understanding that there are real risks to the approaches, whether for marketing, supply chain optimization, dynamic pricing, or any other use case.
According to Weller, many organizations don’t realize, for example, that it is possible to expose a marketing budget to failure in dramatic fashion. In addition to modeling scenarios extensively beforehand with large quantities of historic data, it may also be necessary to tweak offers and pricing in live situations to ultimately have the successful outcome that is sought.
Weller plans to present real-world scenarios to help attendees grasp the considerations connected with AI and machine learning, and how it is possible to “contain” the danger of failing fast and also adjust in real time to achieve success.
Weller will present his talk on the role of failure in big data success on Wednesday, May 23, at 3 pm.
For more information about Data Summit 2018, and to register, go here.
To review the Data Summit program, go to https://www.dbta.com/DataSummit/2018/Program.aspx