Five questions about AI to Mike Haydock: ‘Never seen technology that was so human’

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How can Artificial Intelligence (AI) help (retail) organisations, why do they have to start working with it now and what can we expect of this technology in the coming years? Mike Haydock, IBM Fellow and Chief Scientist, gives his vision on AI & machine learning based on a handful of questions.

AI and Machine Learning (ML) have few secrets for Mike Haydock. As IBM Fellow* in these fields he has been closely involved with these technologies since the start of AI and machine learning. When AI application IBM Watson won American game show Jeopardy in 2011, Mike was in the audience. Not just as an attentive spectator, but also as joint-initiator, expert and secret admirer. Because in Haydock’s eyes, Watson’s performance was a small miracle. “It was a benchmark in my life and AI’s. I had never seen technology that was so human”, he describes this experience.

What do you actually understand under AI?
“AI is an overarching concept, machine learning falls under it”, says Haydock. He considers AI the connecting element between different types of information. “AI combines internal data, such as sales figures or customer information, with external public data such as social media messages and weather forecasts.” From the combination of all these huge quantities of data, AI distils answers to questions our brains cannot answer so quickly. “Simply because we do not have the same capacity in terms of memory and computing power. But AI allows machines to think and learn, just like people.”

Why is AI such a hot topic now?
“AI is interesting for every organisation in every sector”, underlines Haydock. The advantages of AI include cost cuts thanks to a higher efficiency and greater customer satisfaction. “In addition, AI helps companies to predict the future, for example what fashion trends will be and what stock market prices will do. This is all based on insights of the analysis of huge quantities of data. In other words, this technology is not only interesting for retailers and consumer companies, but also for IT companies, financial service providers, logistics organisations and care facilities for example .”

How can AI help retailers?
“Retailers look for a balance between too much stock and empty shelves. AI helps them to optimise this balance,” explains Haydock. Based on internal and external data, AI can precisely predict which products should be in which store and when. He advises retailers to adopt AI now. “AI finds itself in a comparable situation as the internet 20 years ago. As an early adopter, you can achieve a significant competitive advantage.”

Are there regional differences in terms of AI?
“Absolutely” answers Haydock. “In the USA, AI is used mostly to optimise processes, for example to find mistakes in huge numbers of invoices.” It is seen as a way to save time. In Europe it’s different. “European organisations focus mostly on production when they use AI”. In other words, how can we use this technology to put better products on the market sooner in keeping with the customer’s wishes?

What do you expect of AI in the coming years?
“2020 will be a turning point. Companies that took one step forward with AI last year will take five steps forward in 2020. That’s because they have the basis for AI and can now easily use this technology for more business facets”. AI will also integrate more with technologies such as blockchain and quantum computing. In the long-term Haydock thinks AI will develop into a technology with a human interface. “How people and machines make decisions will merge. For these reasons, I advise companies to invest in AI as soon as possible – not just the technology itself, but also in the people with the required skills such as data scientists and mathematicians.”

Want to know more about Mike Haydock’s vision on AI? Watch the video>>

*IBM Fellow: IBM Fellow is the highest honour a scientist, engineer or programmer can obtain at IBM.