AGI:

Google X’s AI is teaching

itself new skills

Data and Analytics:

AI: The turbo engine
accelerating the vehicle
of Data Analytics

June 2023
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF FEATURE DESIGNERS DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCERS MARKETING MANAGER
MARCUS LAW MIMI GUNN MARTA EUGENIO DAISY SLATER
SOPHIE-ANN PINNELL ERNEST DE NEVE
CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER PROJECT DIRECTORS
HECTOR PENROSE THOMAS EASTERFORD
SCOTT BIRCH THOMAS LIVERMORE
SAM HUBBARD DREW HARDMAN TOM VENTURO
MANAGING EDITOR JUSTIN SMITH JOSEPH HANNA
NEIL PERRY REBEKAH BIRLESON SALLY MOUSTAFA MEDIA SALES DIRECTOR
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CHIEF DESIGN OFFICER ADVERT DESIGNERS
MATT JOHNSON JORDAN WOOD PRODUCTION DIRECTORS MEDIA SALES
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HEAD OF DESIGN CALLUM HOOD DANIELA KIANICKOVÁ
ANDY WOOLLACOTT MANAGING DIRECTOR
VIDEO PRODUCTION PRODUCTION MANAGERS LEWIS VAUGHAN
LEAD DESIGNER MANAGER JANE ARNETA
HECTOR PENROSE KIERAN WAITE MARIA GONZALEZ CEO
YEVHENIIA SUBBOTINA GLEN WHITE
SENIOR VIDEOGRAPHER
HUDSON MELDRUM
 FOREWORD

Sparks of AGI:
Google X’s AI is
teaching itself
new skills
“It's the most existential debate and challenge
humanity will ever face. This is bigger than climate
change, way bigger than Covid… This will redefine
the way the world is, in unprecedented shapes and
forms, within the next few years. This is imminent.
We're not talking 2040. We're talking 2025, 2026.”

"I think
Mo Gawdat, AI Expert, and former Google X Chief
Business Officer says his most notable experience
with AI - a rude awakening concerning the potential

they're
of realising AGI - was in witnessing a groundbreaking
experiment at Google X.
The team developed a farm of grippers—robotic

alive"
arms designed to potentially pick objects up.
Initially, the grippers struggled to accomplish this
seemingly simple task. However, Gawdat vividly
recounts a pivotal moment when one of the grippers
Mo Gawdat, autonomously picks up a yellow ball: They had not
AI Expert and former been taught how to do so.
Chief Business Officer “The minute that that arm gripped that yellow
ball,” he says, “it reminded me of my son Ali, when he
managed to put the first puzzle piece in its place.”
Naturally sceptical; believing it to be a fluke,
Gawdat went about the facility glibly proclaiming that
the millions of dollars spent on the project had finally
culminated in - the lifting of a single yellow ball.
And then he was stunned.

AI MAGAZINE
IS PUBLISHED BY
MARCUS LAW
[email protected]

© 2023 | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

aimagazine.com 5
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 CONTENTS
UP FRONT
16 20
14 BIG PICTURE
Deep Learning Chips:
Accelerating change

16 INTERVIEW WITH
Dr. Ayse Glass

20 LIFETIME OF
ACHIEVEMENT
Andrew Ng

14

000
108
8 August 2023
 AUGUST 2023

80

FEATURES 46
46 AI/ML
Machine vision enabling the
factories of the future

80 ECOMMERCE
Supercharging CX & boosting
sales through the power of AI

90 DATA & ANALYTICS

AI: The turbo engine
accelerating the vehicle
of Data Analytics

98 AGI
Google X’s AI is
90
teaching itself new skills

108 TOP 10 98
AI leaders

aimagazine.com 9
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14 August 2023
Deep Learning Chips:
Accelerating change
Global
Deep Learning Chips are specialised hardware
designed to accelerate the training and
inference of deep neural networks. These chips
are essential for enabling AI applications like
deep learning, neural networks and machine
learning to exist. Recent advancements include
Intel's Deep Learning Boost (VNNI), which
accelerates AI inference; greatly improving
performance for deep learning workloads.
The Gaussian Neural Accelerator 2.0 (GNA
2.0) runs AI workloads on an accelerator so
that background noise is better suppressed
and video background more efficiently. Deep
learning chips are also dramatically more cost-
effective than state-of-the-art CPUs as a result
of their greater efficiency for AI algorithms. An
AI chip a thousand times as efficient as a CPU
provides an improvement equivalent to 26 years
of Moore’s Law-driven CPU improvements.

aimagazine.com 15
 INTERVIEW WITH...

DR. AYSE
GLASS
AI Magazine speaks with Dr. Ayse Glass
on the role of AI in architecture
Please tell us your name and occupation...
My name is Dr. Ayse Glass, and I’m a
postdoctoral researcher in Digital City
Science at HafenCity University, Hamburg.
I am involved in the DaFne project, which is
funded by BMBF and includes collaborations
with educational and commercial partners.
Additionally, I teach courses on architectural
acoustics, simulations, synthetic data
generation and artificial intelligence for
urban design. I’m responsible for leading the
smart city use cases.

How does your research in

computational architecture use
AI to enhance the design process?
Artificial intelligence represents a new
tool within the field of architecture and
urban design. In addressing complex
problems, computational design encounters
limitations. Artificial intelligence significantly
contributes towards solving problems in, and
enhancing data-driven design.

16 August 2023
“Artificial intelligence represents a new tool
within the field of architecture and urban design”

It serves as a source of inspiration,

The DaFne project is a research
exploration, optimisation, and acts as a The DaFne project is a research
initiative that explores the water-
decision support system. We ask questions, initiative that explores the water-
energy-food Nexus in complex
identify problems and challenges in the energy-food Nexus in complex
transboundary water resources of fast
context of the architecture and smart city. transboundary water resources
developing countries. It is funded by
To solve these challenges, we look for of fast developing countries. It is
the Federal Ministry of Agriculture,
intelligent algorithms and models for funded by the Federal Ministry of
analysis, synthesis and prediction. We train Forestry, Regions and Water
Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and
these models, to ensure accurate results. Management (BMBF). The project
Water Management (BMBF). The project
In certain cases, extensive data might be involves collaboration with educational
involves collaboration with educational
unavailable due to reasons such as data and commercial partners, although
and commercial partners, although
protection or resource constraints. specific details on these partners are
specific details on these partners are
Hence, we generate synthetic data not provided in the search results.
not provided in the search results.
and validate methods to use in city One of the goals of the DaFne project
One of the goals of the DaFne project
design. Particularly, when it comes to is to develop a decision-analytic
is to develop a decision-analytic
challenges in cities, such as understanding framework (DAF) to quantitatively
framework (DAF) to quantitatively
mobility habits of the citizens, urban civil assess the social, economic, and
assess the social, economic, and
protection or maintenance of bridges environmental impact of expanding
environmental impact of expanding
and landmarks; artificial intelligence water reuse and recycling in the
water reuse and recycling in the
algorithms can deliver some really food and beverage industry. The
food and beverage industry. The
promising solutions. project has also experimented
project has also experimented
with data sets in collaboration
Can you tell us about the innovative digital with data sets in collaboration
with the Center for Information
tools you are developing for architectural with the Center for Information
Services & HPC, TU Dresden.
design and urban development - and Services & HPC, TU Dresden.
how they incorporate AI technologies?
Digital City Science is a large team led by Our research aims to develop systematic
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Rainer Noennig. Our work knowledge about the conception, design,
revolves around various projects, models, and implementation of digital tools and data
applications, and city tools. processing to make cities healthier, livable,
We investigate how new digital sustainable, and comfortable for citizens.
technologies can relate to existing urban In projects such as DaFne, we handle
systems, focusing on user-oriented large datasets and employ different
participatory planning, co-creation, and approaches involving smart city algorithms
co-design. We develop new tools that and AI methods. The incorporation of AI
enable fundamental scientific investigations, technologies varies depending on the
spot trends and theoretical findings, and project; including visualisation, optimisation,
inform policy and decision makers. analysis and planning.

aimagazine.com 17
In your project "Platform Data Fusion Regarding mobility we are currently
Generator - DaFne," how does synthetic researching two different methods:
data generation contribute to smart cities 1. Neighbourhood generation, and
- and how is AI involved in this process? 2. Path generation
In the DaFne project, we defined ten use These methods utilise deep
cases, movement in urban districts, tourist reinforcement learning to explore pedestrian
transfer to mobility centres, urban civil mobility habits within cities.
protection, hazard prediction at major The maintenance approach involves
events, bridge maintenance, preventive tabular data generation, and we are testing it
management of air pollution, social using bridge datasets. We have developed a
dynamics at places of knowledge and path generator tool called "motivity," which
innovation, light and mobility, watering uses deep reinforcement learning and
for the climate green space irrigation, city connects with a survey to generate happier
signals statistical methods or semantic CMS. or unhappier paths for citizens.
Our focus, is on mobility, and The AI plays the game according to
maintenance. predefined rules set by scientists, learning

18 August 2023
 INTERVIEW WITH...

demo video can be seen on my website

ayseglass.com.
The program finds the optimised
acoustic conditions according to the
defined rules. The algorithm generates the
design multiple times, tries every design
option, and simulates the acoustics. The
results are saved in a text file and fed into
the AI algorithms.
For example, a violin concert needs
different acoustic and architectural
conditions than a rock band. With the
active method the designed room can
adapt through the calculations and
simulations to the perfect acoustical mood.
If there is a talk in the room then
the room shapes itself and changes its
“In project DaFne, we volume, angles of the elements or the

handle large datasets materials of the surfaces. So, the room

reacts actively to the sound inside. The
and employ different adjustments can be done for lighting or
different calculable user perceptions.
approaches involving
smart city algorithms What role does AI play in understanding
the city and its architecture from the
and AI methods” perspective of the user? - How does
it enable you to gain insights that
through exploration on real maps. The were previously inaccessible?
output of these algorithms provides valuable With the power of AI, we add decision
input for architectural and urban design making to our agents that we use for
projects. Detailed information about our our simulations. While designing we use
research can be found in our published interactive tables, various agent based
scientific papers. simulation tools or city simulations to
model the real-world scenarios. Typically,
Could you explain how intelligent design these simulations are created using non-
and data visualisation, driven by AI, can decision- making, not intelligent agents.
be robotised and adapted to various However, with AI, we can calculate
parameters such as mood, music, time, and incorporate utility functions into our
lighting, function, or user perceptions? agents. This enhancement leads to more
I worked as an acoustic architect for 10 realistic simulations that closely resemble
years and developed a new active design real-life situations.
method for my PhD. I tested the program As a result, we can achieve better designs
through the acoustic parameters. A for our cities, leading to happier citizens.

aimagazine.com 19
 Andrew Ng:
Deepening and
democratising
learning

20 August 2023
 LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT

Ng is a true pioneer in deep learning; and a democratiser in AI

education. His impact on the field is transformative, bridging the skills
gap, propelling AI advancement and inspiring a responsible future

A
ndrew Ng stands as a leveraging artificial neural networks,
towering figure within deep learning algorithms enabled
the realm of artificial machines to model complex
Ng is the
intelligence (AI), leaving co-founder patterns in data with unprecedented
an indelible mark on of Coursera, accuracy and efficiency. Andrew
an online
the field through his pioneering work learning Ng's contributions in this area
in deep learning and unwavering platform were instrumental in pushing the
that offers
commitment to democratising courses boundaries of AI and unlocking its
AI education. From his early from top immense potential across a wide
universities
contributions to the development and range of domains.
of deep learning algorithms to organisations However, Ng's impact extends
around the
his founding of online education world. He beyond the confines of academia. A
platforms, Ng's impact on AI is far- served as the firm believer in the democratisation
company's
reaching and transformative. co-CEO from of knowledge, he recognized the
Born in 1976 in the United Kingdom, 2012 to 2014 importance of making AI education
Andrew Ng spent his formative years accessible to individuals around the
in Hong Kong. His journey into the world of world. In 2011, Ng co-founded Coursera,
AI began with an undergraduate degree in an innovative online learning platform that
electrical engineering from the University completely transformed the landscape of
of Edinburgh, where he honed his technical education. Coursera offers a diverse array of
acumen. Fuelled by a relentless curiosity courses, including AI and machine learning,
and passion for unravelling the mysteries of enabling anyone with an internet connection
AI, Ng pursued a Ph.D. in computer science to acquire knowledge and develop skills in
from the University of California, Berkeley. these cutting-edge fields.
Upon completing his doctorate, Ng Under Ng's guidance, Coursera became
embarked on an illustrious academic a global platform for learning, attracting
career at Stanford University, where his millions of students eager to delve into the
groundbreaking contributions would take intricacies of AI. His courses, delivered with
shape. It was during his tenure at Stanford clarity and expertise, provided learners with
that Ng co-founded the Google Brain project, a comprehensive understanding of machine
a seminal initiative that sought to explore the learning and deep learning principles.
frontiers of deep learning. Collaborating with
a team of brilliant minds, Ng contributed to

“Data is
the development of pioneering deep learning
algorithms, which form the backbone of
modern AI applications.
The advent of deep learning was a
watershed moment in AI research. By food for AI”
 LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT

The impact of Ng's vision for

democratising AI education cannot be
“I think AI is going overstated. By removing geographical and
financial barriers, Coursera empowered
to transform every individuals from all walks of life to gain

industry. I think proficiency in AI. Ng's efforts to instil ethics

and responsibility within the AI community
it's going to be a have sparked vital conversations and
influenced the direction of AI policy. His
transformative advocacy has fostered a greater awareness
of the societal implications of AI and
technology, and I motivated researchers and practitioners
to adopt ethical frameworks that prioritise
think in the same transparency, accountability and fairness.

way that electricity Ng's contributions reverberate

throughout the AI landscape. His pioneering
transformed every work in deep learning has propelled AI
to new heights, enabling breakthroughs
industry, AI is going in image and speech recognition, natural
language processing, and autonomous
to do the same” vehicles. By equipping individuals with
the tools and knowledge needed to thrive
in the AI era, Ng has facilitated a seismic

How AI Could Empower Any Business

Andrew Ng | TED

WATCH NOW

22 August 2023
shift in global workforces. As AI delivered keynote addresses and
continues to reshape industries, the lectures at prestigious conferences
demand for skilled professionals and universities, sharing his insights
Ng has
proficient in AI and machine learning taught over and inspiring others to push the
has skyrocketed. Ng's emphasis 2.5 million boundaries of AI.
students
on accessible education through through Looking ahead, Andrew Ng
platforms like Coursera has played a his online continues to champion the
courses
pivotal role in bridging the skills gap advancement of AI and its
and equipping individuals with the Ng has responsible integration into society.
authored or
expertise required to succeed in this co-authored He recognizes the ethical and
rapidly evolving landscape. over 100 societal challenges that accompany
research
Ng's impact on AI education and papers in rapid technological progress and
research has garnered widespread machine has called for ongoing dialogue
learning,
recognition and accolades. He has robotics, and and collaboration to ensure AI is
received numerous awards and related fields developed and utilised for the greater
honours, including being named one good. Ng's vision for an inclusive,
of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential responsible, and beneficial AI future
People in the world. As a sought-after serves as a guiding light for researchers,
speaker and thought leader, Ng has policymakers, and industry leaders.

aimagazine.com 23
The Portfolio
WORK WITH US
ORACLE CLOUD
and the power of
community in driving
digital evolution
26 August 2023
 ORACLE CLOUD

WRITTEN BY:
MAYA
DERRICK

PRODUCED BY:
LEWIS
VAUGHAN

aimagazine.com 27
28 August 2023
 ORACLE CLOUD

Oracle’s Jürgen Kress

explains how being named
a leader in two Gartner Magic
Quadrant reports will further
propel the business and those
it works with

I
n conversation with Mobile Magazine,
Director of Product Management
Integration and Digital Assistant at
Oracle Jürgen Kress shared insights
into how Oracle Cloud leverages
community to propel digital evolution.
As a multinational computer technology
corporation and the third-largest software
company worldwide, Oracle is renowned
for its comprehensive range of software
products and services. The company
offers Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI),
with a comprehensive set of services from
infrastructure to platform and SaaS. This
ranges from compute and storage, PaaS
services like integration, BI, content, identity
management, or a chatbot to services like
ERP, HCM, CX, NetSuite, or industry solutions
like the OPERA Hospitality Platform. With
a mission to help people view data in new
ways, discover insights, and unlock endless
possibilities, Oracle remains at the top of
its game. Named a Leader and Positioned
Highest for Ability to Execute in Gartner
Magic Quadrant for Integration Platform as
a Service Worldwide 2023, Oracle continues
to shape the future of digital transformation.

The transformation journey

Kress, who has been with Oracle for over
two decades, highlights the remarkable
transformation in the IT industry. Oracle’s

aimagazine.com 29
Technically Inspiring
We use our specialist technical expertise, powerful
technology, customised client solutions and global reach
to deliver better results for the world of insurance.
Why Oracle Cloud has the ability to provide PaaS services
Vikas Sharma, Global Head of INSIS CoE at “The first and foremost benefit that we get
Charles Taylor, explains how the company is that it helps us to deliver our solution
harnesses Oracle’s OCI to enhance their in fast time-to-market.
internal operations and output
“The time for server building and
With a history spanning almost 140 years, infrastructure building – which used to take
Charles Taylor provides insurance solutions many days, sometimes many months – has
with a unique breadth, offering technical reduced a lot. And that eventually reduces
expertise and global reach alongside a lot of our cost, benefitting our customers.”
award-winning solutions. Their constant
strive for excellence is propelled forward Security and safeguarding data
through using an array of Oracle Cloud
systems that have been in place for the With data protection and security
last 10 years – as Vikas Sharma, Global paramount, Sharma adds that Oracle’s
Head of INSIS CoE, explains. services, when used together, completely
safeguard information at any and all
‘A natural choice’ levels. “We use Oracle Cloud Guard, which
is one of the products that comes from
“It was a natural choice for us to try Oracle OCI, to secure at the tenant-level. Then
Cloud products, so we moved into OCI. One we utilise other services from OCI, like
of the main benefits of OCI was providing DataSafe, specifically, to find out any kind
PaaS services.” Comparing OCI Autonomous of vulnerabilities at the database level.
Database to a self-driving car, Sharma
praised its ability to do its own patching – “All our servers are in a private subnet
whether that be security patching, security so they are completely secured. And we
detection, or identifying vulnerabilities. utilise some of the services security list
And there’s a financial benefit, as well. type of services, rules services from OCI,
to secure our applications.”
Fast delivery

“I always use this phrase:

time is money,” says Sharma.
“Oracle now boasts
the fastest core integration capabilities serve as an onramp
network of global to the broader IaaS platform.
According to Kress: “OCI is a
data centres, second-generation cloud representing

with 42 regions
a fundamental re-architecture of the
conventional public cloud. While
currently available first-generation clouds were built on
decade-old technology, Oracle’s Cloud is
and nine more in specifically architected for the enterprise.

the pipeline” It was built in a microservice architecture,

which gives us a competitive advantage.
We use that difference to shift all workloads
JÜRGEN KRESS for our customers to the cloud – existing
DIRECTOR PRODUCT workloads, new cloud-native workloads
MANAGEMENT INTEGRATION
AND DIGITAL ASSISTANT, – and we are continually releasing new
ORACLE CLOUD capabilities such as integration and AI
 ORACLE CLOUD

JÜRGEN KRESS
TITLE: DIRECTOR PRODUCT
MANAGEMENT INTEGRATION AND
DIGITAL ASSISTANT
COMPANY: ORACLE CLOUD

An expert in the Oracle Cloud

Platform Jürgen Kress is part
of product management team and
responsible for Oracle’s Integration
& Digital Assistant partner business
& the customer success program.
He is the founder of the Oracle
Integration & Developer Partner
Communities and the global Oracle
Partner Advisory Councils. These PaaS
Partner Communities are home to
over 10,000 members internationally
as Oracle’s most active and successful
communities. Which Jürgen manages
with monthly newsletters, webcasts,
online trainings and conferences. He
hosts the Partner Community Forums,
services including Digital Assistant, Summer Camps and Bootcamps where
our secure, enterprise chatbot.” hundreds of attendees receive product
By utilising OCI Application Integration updates, roadmap insights, and
(OIC), customers gain access to a wide array hands-on training. He graduated from
of services, ranging from compute and Berufsakademie Stuttgart and holds
storage, to identity management, content a master’s degree from University of
EXECUTIVE BIO

management, modern data platform, and Brasilia. As an author he published

application development. The seamless several books and is an
integration of various applications, both active social contributor
Oracle and third-party, enables customers via Twitter, LinkedIn,
to enhance their operational efficiency discussion forums,
and unlock the full potential of Oracle’s online communities,
infrastructure. Prebuilt adapters and slack and blogs.
integrations accelerate delivery and
minimise upgrade risks. Unified observability
simplifies hybrid and multi-cloud operations.
Oracle and KNEX Empower Clients
with Fusion Applications for
Real-World Impact

KNEX is a seasoned team of elite

Oracle experts curated by founder
Basheer Khan, a globally recognised
Oracle authority.

Since 2013, we’ve delivered

proven solutions built on
broad industry understanding.

Beyond integrating systems,

we elevate success, leveraging
Fusion extensions to coordinate
harmony within the organisations.

Learn More →
KNEX: Unlock the full potential of your Fusion Applications
KNEX Technology is revolutionising Providing positive change – together
Fusion Applications implementations Oracle and KNEX have collaborated on
with innovative extensions that expand many amazing projects. One of the
functionality across industries most poignant is implementing Fusion
Applications across 14 countries, in
Being a member of the Fusion Inner just 16 weeks. “I think this is a
circle, and an early adopter, Basheer record,” Khan shares. “We don’t know
Khan gained deep expertise in Fusion of any other implementation for such a
Applications. Recognising this, Oracle broad region in such a short time.
engaged Khan in 2010 to install
Fusion Applications for early adopter “We’ve also done some impactful
companies. This experience led Khan to projects when it comes to improving the
envision a consulting firm that not productivity of our clients. One of our
only implemented Fusion Applications clients in the financial services sector
but also helped clients optimise their had their team spending a considerable
investments. With this idea in mind, amount of time capturing data from
Khan founded KNEX Technology in 2013 different banks. We were able to automate
with the goal of implementing cloud that using Oracle Integration Cloud.”
applications, integrating them with
other systems, and extending their To breathe life into the concept
functionality to bridge gaps. of positive change, our favourite
collaboration is with non-profit
In 2005, Oracle recognised Khan as an organisations. KNEX works hand-in-
Oracle ACE Director, part of their ACE hand to help non-profits afford and
Program that recognises individuals who successfully uptake Oracle Fusion
are experts in their respective fields. Applications, simplifying their day-
In 2012, KNEX’s CTO, Gustavo Gonzalez to-day operations and enabling them
was awarded the same recognition. to focus on their missions to provide
This milestone achievement makes KNEX positive change to the world.
the only organisation with two of the
three ACE Directors in the world who Khan concludes: “At KNEX, we simplify
specialise in Fusion Applications. the complex.”
 ORACLE CLOUD

“We are thankful for

an excellent team,
including leadership
with an in-depth
understanding,
and a track record
of success in the
integration market”
JÜRGEN KRESS
DIRECTOR PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
INTEGRATION AND DIGITAL
ASSISTANT,
ORACLE CLOUD

Speaking about OIC’s industry recognition, customers, partners, and employees,

Kress explained: “Congratulations to all Oracle collaborates, engages, supports,
the customers, partners, and the whole and trains this community. The community
community. It was a big team effort including model extends to both partners and
product management, development, sales, customers, offering sales and marketing
and marketing. Oracle is a SaaS market enablement information, newsletters,
leader with solutions spanning ERP, CM, CX, webcasts, and success stories.
and industry solutions. Customers need to
connect their applications, including Oracle Comms channels ‘vital’
SaaS, with their applications, data, and The constant communication channels,
messaging services in the cloud, between such as newsletters, webcasts, blogs,
different clouds, and on-premises.” instant messaging, and social media,
enable the sharing of product information,
The power of community success stories, and valuable feedback to
A significant aspect of Oracle’s success continually improve the OCI Application
lies in the vibrant and active community Integration service.
it has cultivated. With more than 10,000 Oracle recognises the crucial role played
community members comprising by partners in implementing successful

36 August 2023
 Use more image
captions as often
as possible
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automation and governance into their customers move faster with quality while
processes and make sure there’s visibility managing cost and risk. Everybody wins.
to change,” Flexagon’s CEO and Co-Founder It’s a neat dynamic to help solve these
Dan Goerdt says. joint customer challenges in different ways.”

Removing complexity A bright future

Through its partnership with Oracle and its Although proud of what Flexagon has
Oracle Cloud systems, FlexDeploy optimizes achieved since its inception and how
services for ease of customer use. As an partnering with Oracle has enabled the
Oracle partner, Flexagon leverages the likes company to reach a wider customer base,
of development environments and demo Goerdt has his sights set on a bright future
environments, accessing resources within in partnership with Oracle. “Oracle continues
Oracle’s product management and marketing to crank out new services and extend their
to optimise FlexDeploy’s support for Oracle existing services. We’re tightly aligned
Cloud Integration and Applications. with them so we can continue to enhance
FlexDeploy to support the evolution
Partnership in action of Oracle Cloud.”

Heathrow Airport had a huge transformation

and is adopting Oracle Cloud, Oracle Cloud
Applications, Oracle Integration and APEX. LEARN MORE
Capgemini, as an Oracle partner and a
 Oracle Cloud and the power of
community in driving digital evolution

WATCH NOW

projects. The integration partner

ecosystem consists of various types of
partners, including system integrators,
global system integrators, local partners,
and independent software vendors (ISVs). 33
To support partners, Oracle provides hands-on trainings with

comprehensive programs that encompass 2465

sales, marketing, and enablement attendees in fiscal year 2022
information, joint campaigns, free training,
and certification. Notable partnerships 33
include innovative regional system webcasts with

integrators, global system integrators 7969

undertaking large international projects, attendees in fiscal year 2022

40 August 2023
 ORACLE CLOUD

and ISVs leveraging pre-built integrations “For partners, we offer a whole

to connect their solutions to the Oracle program including sales, marketing, and
SaaS ecosystem. enablement information such as sales
“Partners are absolutely key to us,” kits with customer presentations, sales
Kress says “Of the top 10 customer positioning, joint campaigns to generate
projects, eight of them have been leads, and opportunities for free training
successfully implemented by partners. and certification. All of that is put together
We’re thankful for our excellent global in a community model to communicate
partnerships. The integration partner regularly via newsletters and webcasts.”
ecosystem includes different types of To highlight some of the success factors,
partners from system integrators, global trained and certified partners deliver and
system integrators, and local partners, to replicate successful customer projects.
independent software vendors. Every year, Oracle offers 20 free training

aimagazine.com 41
42 August 2023
 ORACLE CLOUD

“We are
sessions to its partners. In these three-day
workshops, up to 200 people learn about

continually the product in live virtual classes, which has

resulted in more than 6,000 certified Oracle
releasing new Application Integration experts since 2020.
Kress explains, “We have small and
capabilities” innovative partners like KNEX, which
are among the first movers to connect
JÜRGEN KRESS and extend Oracle SaaS with OIC. They
DIRECTOR PRODUCT customised Oracle SaaS to run a winery,
MANAGEMENT INTEGRATION replicated this customer success, and now
AND DIGITAL ASSISTANT,
ORACLE CLOUD offer an industry solution. We work with
all Global System Integrators (GSI’s) who
deploy international projects. For example,
Capgemini and the Heathrow Airport
project, Infosys, who presented one of
their projects at our last customer success
webcast, or Accenture with more than
500 experts. Independent Software Vendors
(ISVs) such as Charles Taylor, which offers
insurance solutions, leverage OIC to connect
with Oracle SaaS. With OIC, Charles Taylor
gets access to the Oracle SaaS installed
base and customers benefit from tailored
industry solutions.”
“Partners such as Flexagon, which offers
a DevOps solution, FlexDeploy, for Oracle
Cloud infrastructure services. FlexDeploy
is a DevOps and automation platform
that enables fast and efficient packaging,
testing, and development of code and
configurations. It’s a complimentary tool
that was initially developed on Oracle SOA
Suite and now supports the latest OCI
architecture. Available through the Oracle
Marketplace, FlexDeploy is available to
any OCI customer.” Asked about OIC’s
global partner model, Kress shared, “To
summarise our partner strategy, the secret
is that we train and certify partners to deliver
successful projects and replicate their

aimagazine.com 43
 ORACLE CLOUD

best practices. The community model is a

consistent, executable, and scalable model.”
“Partners are
He adds: “For customers and prospects, absolutely
key to us”
we established a similar program that
includes a quarterly newsletter, quarterly
product webcast, customer summits,
and success stories. The product webcast JÜRGEN KRESS
provides customers with the latest DIRECTOR PRODUCT
MANAGEMENT INTEGRATION
release details with demonstrations AND DIGITAL ASSISTANT,
of new features and roadmap details. ORACLE CLOUD
Prospects learn from successful customer
implementations in regional success
webcasts. A great example is the London
Heathrow Airport reference implemented
by Capgemini.
“Overall, we are thankful for an excellent
team, including leadership with an in-depth
understanding, and a track record of success
in the integration market. It’s always a team
effort, and we would like to thank and
congratulate our customers, employees,
partners, and the ACE community that
made it possible.”

Driving future development

Oracle aims to expand its customer base
and further develop its cloud offerings. “OCI
is a complete cloud infrastructure platform The company recognises that continued
suitable for every workload, offering all the growth and development depend on
necessary services to migrate, build, and run customers utilising its products and actively
both existing and new enterprise workloads contributing to Oracle’s service offerings.
including cloud-native applications and Ongoing communication with customers
modern data platforms,” Kress details. and partners helps prioritise bi-monthly
“Oracle now boasts the fastest core releases and drive longer-term strategy.
network of global data centres, with more
than 42 regions currently available and AI and the future of cloud services
nine more in the pipeline. Oracle also Kress highlights the immense potential of
provides 20 free tier services, with no time AI as the next major revolution in the IT
limitations, including compute and storage, industry. AI services rely heavily on data
autonomous databases, and APEX for low- models and the ability to expose trusted
code development.” enterprise data to AI systems. By connecting

44 August 2023
transactional application data with AI to empowering customers, fostering
capabilities, organisations can optimise partnerships, and embracing emerging
automated processes and empower technologies positions it at the forefront
knowledge workers to make timely, data- of innovation.
driven decisions that drive growth. Cloud Overall, Oracle’s community-driven
services are becoming smarter, more approach, coupled with its commitment
autonomous, and interconnected, leveraging to partner success and technological
the power of connected data and AI to innovation, positions the company at the
deliver superior predictions and insights. forefront of digital transformation and enables
Through a combination of robust it to provide comprehensive cloud solutions
infrastructure, integration capabilities, and a to its customers.
thriving community, Oracle Cloud is driving
digital evolution in the industry. Recognised
as a leader in iPaaS, Oracle’s commitment

aimagazine.com 45
 AI/ML

Machine vision
enabling the
factories of
the future
Machine vision has empowered industrial robots
with the ability to see things with high resolution
and speed, enabling a range of industrial use cases

WRITTEN BY: MARCUS LAW

46 August 2023
aimagazine.com 47
 AI/ML

T
hink of a factory of the future
and you might imagine sci-fi-
like advanced technologies, with
highly-automated robots.
But with Industry 4.0
technologies like AI, 5G and IoT, this future is
closer than you might think.
Intel describes machine vision technology
as giving industrial equipment the ability
to “see” what it is doing and make rapid
decisions based on what it sees.
One of the founding technologies of
industrial automation, machine vision has
helped improve product quality, speed
production, and optimise manufacturing
and logistics for decades. Now this proven
technology is merging with artificial
intelligence and leading the transition to
Industry 4.0.
Central to those visions of the factory
of the future are autonomous robots,
capable of performing highly complex tasks
with incredible accuracy. As Omkar Nisal,
Managing Director UK & Ireland at Wipro Ltd
explains, machine vision has played a key
role in the evolution of industrial robotics.
“Machine vision has empowered
industrial robots with the ability to see
things with high resolution and speed. Earlier
robots could only use sensors for measuring
vibrations, acoustics, temperature and
depth to monitor and feel surroundings.
“Now, the journey of automation
that started from basic sensors and
microcontrollers has now accelerated with
the addition of machine vision. It has now
evolved into a more complex hybrid AI-led
machine which can make fast decisions
from multiple types of connected devices
like sensors and cameras.”
This evolution, Nisal adds, has been
primarily triggered by advancements in
technologies like AI and chip designs. “It

48 August 2023
Machine vision speeds
up decisions with data
Machine vision also provides greater
flexibility in industrial robotics by speeding
up the decision-making process in situations
where data is used to make informed
decisions, says Michel Spruijt, Chief Revenue
Officer of Brain Corp, which gives operators
greater control of their workflows.
“Due to the exponential growth in
the mobile phone industry brought on
by the demand from the social media
world, massive improvements in camera
technology and machine vision techniques
through improved cameras and processing
power are having wide impacts across all
markets now, including the manufacturing
industry,” explains Spruijt.
“Additionally, Moore’s Law and
the push towards cheaper and more
specialised hardware for data processing
has dramatically reduced the cost and
accessibility for these applications.”

“Autonomous mobile
robotics are able to
collect a tremendous
amount of data, but
customers expect
that data to be parsed
into digestible and
actionable insights”
MICHEL SPRUIJT
CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER, BRAIN CORP

aimagazine.com 49
 AI/ML

has also enabled new industrial use cases

“Recent advancements in cameras, AI,
which seemed impossible in the past; visual
and chipsets are boosting the use of
inspections of oil rigs, automated quality
machine vision applications. Among
inspections and remote monitoring of
the 39 use cases analysed, 7 have been
safety-critical assets have become a new
flagged as particularly interesting,
reality, which we at Wipro are driving for
including flaw detection, autonomous
some of our key customers.”
driving, and contaminant identification.
How machine vision is Machine vision has the highest return
driving automation innovations on investment (ROI) and quickest
From smart warehouses to subsea amortisation time of all Industry
inspections, every new advancement in 4.0 technologies”
automation is driven by machine vision
being at the forefront of such use cases.
“For example,” Nisal explains, “oil and gas “Machine vision has
explorations in the deep sea can reach great empowered industrial
depths because of machine vision. A magnetic
crawler attached with a camera can reach robots with the ability
great heights and remote places in industrial to see things with high
plants and perform difficult inspections.
“A robot can detect internal cracks in a gas resolution and speed”
pipeline proactively, thereby saving millions of
dollars. Robots can proactively alert operators OMKAR NISAL
by grading the corrosion of pipes from drone MD UK&I, WIPRO
pictures and videos, helping operations be a
lot more preventive while reducing systems
downtime. This grading is done using complex
machine vision and deep learning techniques.
“Overall, the relationship between
industrial robotics and machine learning is
becoming increasingly symbiotic, and this
is expected to accelerate as technologies
continue to advance.”
Central to the advances in machine
vision are innovations in edge computing.
Increasingly powerful edge computing, plus
a growing universe of deep learning models
for AI, are radically expanding what machine
vision can do.
“Recent innovations in edge computing
have tremendously helped accelerate the
use of machine vision in manufacturing,”
Nisal explains.

aimagazine.com 51
 Benefits of machine to shift to more proactive monitoring,
vision in smart manufacturing avoiding problems rather than merely
According to Intel, machine vision applied reacting to them.
to manufacturing can improve product “If you look at factories today, Audi’s
quality and overall system efficiency, auto manufacturing operation is very
increasing the throughput of your advanced and extremely sophisticated,”
manufacturing line, reducing labour costs, says Christine Boles, Vice President of
and freeing up staff to focus on higher- the Internet of Things Group and General
value work. Manager of the Industrial Solutions
For Audi, working with Intel and Division at Intel.
Nebbiolo Technologies, integrating “But custom-made use cases are
predictive analytics and machine difficult to maintain and scale, and they
learning algorithms into weld inspection can actually hinder innovation because of
and critical quality-control processes the time and money required to get the
resulted in an increase in the number of necessary approvals and deploy individual
welds analysed per day, reduced labour solutions. Audi was ready to look at things
costs in factories, and allowed Audi in a new way and try a different approach.”

52 August 2023
 AI/ML

Audi’s Automated Factory Moves

Closer to Industry 4.0

WATCH NOW

These AI algorithms have wide applicability,

ranging from automated site inspections to
quality analysis of materials and products for
detecting cracks, anomalies, orientations,
“The affordability of high compute colour, and thickness.
devices has meant that heavy deep learning “Deep learning has played a crucial role
algorithms have now become a regular in enabling pre-trained models for object
occurrence on many vision implementations. detection, people detection, segmentation,
The advancement of technology from and classification,” Nisal comments. “It allows
basic microcontrollers to sophisticated transfer learning for customising models for
yet compact powerhouses has helped the the industrial domain, which has resulted in
manufacturing industry look at use cases like faster turnaround times for machine vision.
visual quality inspections, automatic part “More recently, there are now optimised
alignments and accurate packaging. networks for edge devices, accelerating the
“This is helping the industry with reduced adoption of machine vision.”
waste, improved quality, faster inspection Private clouds are expected to play an
cycles and increased production throughput.” important role in the future of industrial
machine vision applications, with scalability
Deep learning supports and the ability to carry out detailed data
and boosts machine vision analysis being just two examples of the
Deep learning-based algorithms for machine benefits to be expected, Michel Spruijt,
vision and predictive analysis have become Chief Revenue Officer of Brain Corp told
a game changer for digital inspections. Technology Magazine recently.

aimagazine.com 53
 The machine vision market is
projected to reach US$17.2bn
by 2027 from US$12.0bn in
2022 at a CAGR of 7.4% during
the forecast period

The automotive machine vision

market is expected to grow at
a CAGR of 9.7% from 2021 to
2028, driven by the increasing
demand for advanced driver
assistance systems (ADAS)
and autonomous vehicles

54 August 2023
 AI/ML

“Deep learning has played

a crucial role in enabling
pre-trained models for
object detection, people
detection, segmentation,
and classification”

OMKAR NISAL
MD UK&I, WIPRO

“Autonomous mobile robotics are able to

collect a tremendous amount of data, but
customers expect that data to be parsed
into digestible and actionable insights,”
he explains. “The maturation of cloud
technology will help expedite the process of
pushing data from the edge to the cloud and
then back down to the customer.”
With the future of industrial machine
vision applications expected to reside in
private clouds, cloud technology has an
important role to play.
“Most of these vision solutions are built
inherently on the cloud, as a result of initial
cost advantages. Initially, deep learning
algorithms demanded huge amounts of
hardware,” Nisal comments.
“The earlier solution designs used cameras,
sending images and videos to the cloud. This
was advantageous for small use cases but,
on a larger industrial scale, it soon became
a problem. It caused network bandwidth
issues due to thousands of images and videos
being transferred onto the cloud which then
started clogging the network.
“Going forward, the future of vision systems
will be local image processing, either on the
edge device itself or on private local cloud
platforms. Having data processed locally solves
many of the problems related to bandwidth,
real time performance and data security.”

aimagazine.com 55
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FASTER, MORE
COST-EFFECTIVE
APP DEVELOPMENT
WITH SERVICENOW
WRITTEN BY: PRODUCED BY:
ALEX CLERE LEWIS VAUGHAN

aimagazine.com 59
 SERVICENOW

ServiceNow’s Creator Workflows low

code App Engine allows companies
to build apps and workflows quicker,
smarter, and much more cost effectively

C
ast your mind back nearly 20 years
to 2004, and the world of business
was a completely different place.
When ServiceNow was founded by Fred
Luddy, the aim was not to invent one
particular type of software; the motivation
was to create an entire technology stack on
a platform that could be used to automate
virtually any business process that existed
inside of a company. He was inspired by
the pink and yellow slips for purchasing and
acquisitions you would see in mailrooms of
the 1990s, during which time Luddy was
CTO at software company Peregrine.
He set about empowering the normal
everyday employees of a company
– not just IT professionals – to be able to
create workflows and applications on their
own without involving a high-priced app
developer. When he pitched the early-
stage company to investors, they were
understandably keen to see exactly what
he could build on this new platform he was
envisioning. Drawing on his background in IT,
Luddy built an IT Service Management (ITSM)
software application – and, in the process,
convinced them to invest in what is now
an US$8bn-a-year business.
This is why many people refer to the tech
company as “the ticketing company” and
associate ServiceNow mainly with IT service
delivery – because this was the first app
use case built on the ServiceNow Platform.
Employees who encounter a problem with
the company’s technology systems submit

60 August 2023
aimagazine.com 61
a ticket request, which is then cascaded
in ServiceNow and routed to the IT
“My primary
department to prioritise and resolve.
“I think a lot of people have big
leadership style is
misconceptions about ServiceNow,” says trust. That to me
is the most important
the company’s Global Area Vice President
for Creator Workflows Solution Consulting,
Gregg Aldana. “I know I certainly did
[before joining the company].” and fundamental
What is ServiceNow Creator Workflows?
part of any effective
This newer business unit, whose Global leadership”
Solution Consulting team is headed up by
Aldana, is spearheaded with ServiceNow’s
GREGG ALDANA
low-code app development offering GLOBAL AREA VP,
called App Engine. The drag-and-drop set SERVICENOW

62 August 2023
 SERVICENOW

GREGG ALDANA
TITLE: GLOBAL AREA VP,
CREATOR WORKFLOWS
SOLUTION CONSULTING
LOCATION: UNITED STATES

Gregg is an energetic, passionate,

and captivating public speaker
with a unique “Ted-Talk Style” approach
to discussing complex business, people,
and technology issues. Gregg leads
ServiceNow’s Global Creator Workflows
Solution Consulting organisation where
his teams work with customers across
many different countries and cultures
in various industries in kick-starting
their digital transformation journeys
by innovating and solutioning with
ServiceNow’s low-code App Engine
development platform. Gregg meets
with 200+ CIOs, CTOs, and technology/
business leaders globally each year
to discuss hyperautomation and
effective approaches to driving digital
transformation with low code app dev
and automation technologies.
of capabilities can be used by companies Gregg is a proven software industry
of virtually any size to develop internal thought leader and a true business
workflows, processes and even consumer- and technology MAVERICK that takes
facing custom low-code apps that automate an independent
and connect every step of a business and sometimes
process and can be used to provide greater unorthodox
transparency and insight at every stage stand against
of the journey. prevailing
EXECUTIVE BIO

Aldana leads a global team of over 60 modes of

solution consultants, who help customers thought
solution their digital transformation and action.
aspirations with the products in ServiceNow’s
Creator Workflows portfolio. He has been
with ServiceNow for six-and-a-half years,
although he has been in the application
development space for over 25 years.

aimagazine.com 63
A Match Made on
the Now Platform

As both a ServiceNow Premier

Partner and a consultancy that
specializes in optimizing companies’
business performance, Veracity
brings both the platform capabilities
and organizational expertise to
help you drive results.

We partner with organizations to

automate processes and workflows
across the enterprise and are
ready to do the same for you.

LEARN MORE NOW

 SERVICENOW

The business unit also includes Automation

Engine, which incorporates ServiceNow’s
key integration technologies in a low-
code manner; Integration Hub, which
allows workflows to connect to system
endpoints; RPA Hub (native Robotic
Process Automation) to automate manual
processes and connect to legacy systems;
and Document Intelligence to integrate and
Creator Workflows as a business unit intelligently interact with document images
was launched during the pandemic in 2021, within workflows.
when ServiceNow noticed their customers Aldana explains that, instead of replacing
– hard-pushed to digitise their businesses all the underlying technology and information
rapidly – began building a wide array of systems that companies currently use,
custom apps using its low-code App ServiceNow can provide the “connective
Engine on a scale not seen before. tissue” and offer a modern engagement
The new business unit’s flagship product, layer for businesses, connecting all those
App Engine, encapsulates the core underlying systems of record efficiently.
development aspects of ServiceNow’s Ultimately, the goal is to enable greater
platform, which is used to build and extend simplicity to drive business efficiency and
all of the workflow products in the portfolio. greater employee/customer experiences.

aimagazine.com 65
 SERVICENOW

WATCH NOW

ServiceNow practises what it preaches.

When Aldana joined the business at the
beginning of 2017, the digital onboarding
process he went through was light years
away from anything he’d previously
experienced in the public sector. It was
a sign of things to come, demonstrating
to Aldana first-hand how ServiceNow can
eliminate disconnected, siloed business
processes or experiences into something
much more seamless and efficient.
Aldana has a background in the US
public sector, working in technology roles
for various US government agencies and
departments since 2002, where he had
long been a prolific user of ServiceNow’s
technology. When he left his previous
employer, the FDIC (US Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation), it took him three-
and-a-half weeks to offboard from every
department, physically going between

66 August 2023
six buildings in Arlington, Virginia and
Washington DC and manually completing
over 40 separate tasks given to him on
a single sheet of paper.
By contrast, when he joined ServiceNow,
he onboarded through a single mobile
onboarding low-code app, weeks before
he officially started employment – a process
that covered everything from NDAs and
security training to entering direct deposit
details and ordering company supplies.
In turn, each of these steps, which may require
some form of human intervention or approval
or integration with a different department’s
system of record, was automatically sent
to the right department or system with full
visibility over the entire value chain, including
who was still required to do what.

Diversity of talent will

redefine the workplace
California-headquartered ServiceNow has
come a long way from those early days of
Fred Luddy trying to demonstrate prototypes
of apps on his platform to venture capitalists;
the company now has more than 22,000
employees and its technology is used by
85% of Fortune 500 companies. It has 7,500
global enterprise customers, including over
1,600 who are spending a million dollars or
more, such is the scale of automation that
it makes possible.
Clients include retailers like Walmart
and 7-Eleven; name brand entities such
as Mars and Zoom; sports entertainment
companies such as Nascar, the NBA, and
the NHL; financial service and banking
companies such as Wells Fargo and Standard
Chartered; government agencies like the
US Department of Agriculture and the US
Department of State; plus, aeronautics and
aviation companies including Delta Airlines
and Airbus.

aimagazine.com 67
 Despite how far it has come, ServiceNow “Process optimisation,
is still loyal to Luddy’s original vision and
including citizen driven
purpose: to empower regular employees,
with no technical background, to be able to low-code app dev, is going
effortlessly develop apps to help automate to become a very ubiquitous
their work. Talent diversity is one of the skill that everybody in the
central benefits of low-code technologies, workforce will be expected
lowering the barrier to entry for non-technical
to have”
‘citizen developers’, who could be spread
far and wide across a client’s organisation.
GREGG ALDANA
With low-code app development, more GLOBAL AREA VP,
people can get involved in digitisation SERVICENOW
– meaning professional software developers
are freed up to focus on complex, top-line,
strategically important initiatives.
In turn, Gregg Aldana believes that app
development, aided dramatically with the
introduction on Generative AI, will become
an important and common skill set within
the workplace of tomorrow. Where 20 years
ago people would list Microsoft Office as
a specialised skill set (it’s taken for granted
today), job applicants of the future will no
longer be listing ‘low-code app development’
on their resumes. “Business process
optimisation and workplace automation,
including low-code app development with
Gen AI, is going to become ubiquitous and
it’s going to become a regular skill set and
capability that every person working in
society will have by the end of the decade,”
Aldana predicts.

Does automation lead to fewer human jobs?

One of the most pressing topics within
automation is the balance between future
technology and the current labour market.
Will the rise of Generative AI driving
accelerated automation necessitate fewer
human jobs? Aldana doesn’t think so.
“What you’re going to see will be like
a professional developer on steroids,”
he continues.

68 August 2023
 SERVICENOW

“Low-coders, and more critically front- He was inspired by the movie

line no-coders, will become even more WarGames, which saw Matthew
productive and will have to write less Broderick’s character hack into the
code and know less about technology and Department of Defence. Aldana was
programming in general in order to automate instantly in awe and asked his father
extraordinary things at record speed.” for a computer so he too could dial
Aldana would be the first to acknowledge into local bulletin boards with
that low-code platforms and Generative AI his modem and play games as well.
may represent the demise of the traditional Aldana thought hackers were cool, long
coding fraternity we know. After all, he has before Neo entered the Matrix! It wasn’t
been a software developer essentially since too long after that Aldana began writing
his youth in the 1980s. software at a very young age.

aimagazine.com 69
 SERVICENOW

“The productivity gains

of low code are game
changing. It’s changing
the mission of some
companies and their
ability to do business”
GREGG ALDANA
GLOBAL AREA VP,
SERVICENOW

His parents sent him to computer camp multiples of what we already have
as a child and he still fondly remembers available on the Apple App Store (~2.5m
the first piece of software he ever wrote: apps) or Google Play Store (~3.5m apps).
it helped him manage his childhood To meet these needs, professional
baseball card collection! developers will need to be freed up and
“As a lifelong app developer, I’m excited need help with the smaller stuff – and this is
about this. I’m not intimidated,” he says of where citizen developers come in. Gartner
increasing automation and use of generative predicts that 75% of apps will be built on
AI. “Quite the opposite. I think about the low-code platforms by 2026, representing
sophisticated and impactful systems we’re a US$45bn economy.
going to be able to create in the future that ServiceNow makes app development
would’ve taken years to build before. three-times faster compared to other
These are exciting times!” platforms. End-users are 50-75% more
Indeed, based on Gartner’s latest research, cost-efficient when using ServiceNow’s
he anticipates that society will need over 750 low-code App Engine, and customers get
million new apps in the coming years – many a 230% return on their investment on average.

70 August 2023
 Even beyond this, the advantages of Service: it used ServiceNow’s low-code
using ServiceNow’s low-code app dev App Engine to automate a compliance
platform are self-evident: as well as making examination process for farmers that used
developers more productive by welcoming to take six weeks in total to complete.
citizen developers into the fold, low-code The process involved examining the exposure
builders help companies to retire legacy to insurance risk that farmers faced, so it
systems and consolidate their tech stack was mission critical. With ServiceNow’s
into fewer cloud-based alternatives. help, the USDA was able to get this timeline
“Companies don’t need as many systems from six weeks down to 30 minutes! As well
anymore because a lot of these platforms as the obvious cost savings (about US$3m
have grown up over time and so they do a lot a year in total), this allows the USDA to be
more than they used to,” Aldana explains. more proactive and to offer more frequent
It also opens up new business models and inspections, which in turn will make them
ways of working that wouldn’t have been more effective. Low-code is truly transforming
possible before. Take the example of the how the USDA can accomplish its mission
US Department of Agriculture Marketing and the services it can offer the public.

aimagazine.com 71
72 August 2023
 SERVICENOW

The public sector is Aldana’s domain;

he spent over a decade in the US Federal
Government prior to joining ServiceNow.
After cutting his teeth in New York City
– working as a developer at a Microsoft
Partner during the dot-com boom servicing
customers across financial services at
Guardian Life Insurance and Mutual Life
Insurance of New York – he moved south to
Washington DC. First, he was a consultant
for the US Department of Treasury, helping
to build software to manage international
debt; that was followed by six years as Chief
Enterprise Architect for the Selective Service
System, a small agency that manages the
Another example – from the private US military draft; then during the fall out
sector this time – is an undisclosed airline, of the subprime mortgage crisis in 2010,
who are using ServiceNow’s platform to he became a ServiceNow customer while
offer a shift bidding system for flight crew leading capital investment application
and cabin crew. Employees were able to bid development at the US FDIC, which insures
on more desirable shifts and work patterns, all bank deposits in the United States (and
meaning not only did the airline unshackle has been back in the news again lately,
themselves from a traditionally arduous and following the demise of Silicon Valley
heavily paper-based process, but they were and Signature Banks).
also able to analyse where their staff wanted One incredible public sector case
to work and when they were available. study that really summarises ServiceNow’s
“It’s game changing,” Aldana says. speed and agility is the U.S. Embassy Kabul
“It’s changing the mission of many of Repatriation Assistance Request App.
these organisations and their ability to do An extremely mission critical low-code app
business. I’m seeing this in a lot of different built by the US State Department to repatriate
areas where you’re opening up completely citizens in the wake of the US withdrawal from
new business models that weren’t even Afghanistan in 2021, the US Department of
available beforehand.” State is one of ServiceNow’s largest Creator
Workflows App Engine customers with
ServiceNow’s two main growth areas 130,000 employees and 257 embassies
ServiceNow’s Creator Workflow products worldwide conversing in multiple languages
are available to businesses of all sizes, across across many different cultures. Clearly, the
every industry and every geography. But the needs here are varied and extraordinarily
company has observed two industries that complex. When the decision was made by
in particular that are adopting its low-code the US government to evacuate Afghanistan
solutions at an aggressive pace: public sector following the Taliban’s return to government,
entities, and financial service companies the department needed a way to deal with
including banking. the huge volume of repatriation requests.

aimagazine.com 73
 SERVICENOW

“People come to work,

and they want to work
for somebody who is
sincere and genuinely
passionate about what
they’re leading. I believe
in what we’re doing at
ServiceNow so much”
GREGG ALDANA
GLOBAL AREA VP,
SERVICENOW

In under a week, the State Department

built an externally facing custom low-code
app using Creator Workflows App Engine
that allowed people to request repatriation
assistance, accompanied by an internal
workspace that allowed employees to
process those requests and complete
background checks on applicants. Despite the
intense requirements – including that it was
mobile-friendly for those on the ground in
Kabul – the State Department was able to roll
out the app in a matter of a few days. Since
then, they’ve gone on to expand upon this
initial app and resettle over 70,000 refugees
through their repatriation programme, health officials to monitor and control
integrating with other government agencies the spread of the virus.
like the FBI and Department of Homeland “I remember the Los Angeles Mayor going
Security to ensure that it was rigorously on TV live during the week and saying, ‘we’re
vetting those returning to the US. launching this testing programme Sunday
ServiceNow’s low-code App Engine also night’. They had to pick a technology to do it
proved incredibly useful at the outset of with rapidly, and they did it with ServiceNow’s
COVID-19. When the city of Los Angeles low-code App Engine,” Aldana says.
wanted to roll out a COVID testing reservation “Our team helped them design it, they used
app in the first few months of the lockdown, an integration partner to build it, and they
it had no way of getting something live as launched it in less than 72 hours.”
quickly as they needed it. The app would The other industry adopting ServiceNow’s
need to connect members of the public with low-code App Engine aggressively is
pandemic testing facilities, helping public financial services. These are heavily regulated

74 August 2023
companies where oversight, compliance They see their workflows and data models
and outside auditing of every transaction is as their own IP (Intellectual Property) and
critical. One misstep can tarnish a brand’s their competitive advantage, distinguishing
reputation, the consequences of which have them from other banks across the street.
hit newspaper front pages in recent months. “I see a lot of banks really taking this to an
ServiceNow’s low-code App Engine platform astronomical level with adopting low code
natively provides full visibility, transparency, app dev platforms,” Aldana tells us.
and auditability with anything that is Banco do Brasil has one of the largest
configured or built on the platform. citizen developer workforces of any
Given the need for strict compliance, many ServiceNow customer worldwide.
banks are seeking low-code platforms that The Brasília-headquartered bank has
have this functionality built in. From a market nearly 100,000 employees and around
standpoint, many banks are reluctant to use a third of them have already been trained
common purpose-built off-the-shelf software. on low-code.

aimagazine.com 75
Currently, they have about 800 active citizen
developers across more than 20 lines of
business, which allows them to make the
most of ServiceNow’s low-code Creator
Workflow App Engine.
It’s all part of the bank’s five-year digital
transformation strategy. One of the five
pillars focuses on distributed business-led
automation (aka ‘citizen development’).
Banco do Brasil is using Creator Workflows
to create a full range of custom low-code
apps – from in-house catering order
interfaces, which allow board directors to
order catering at the touch of a button and
utilise geolocation to identify the meeting
room they’re in; to more mission-focused
business functions, like lending money from
one branch to another overnight in a different
currency. They are also using App Engine
to fulfil a lot of the bank’s compliance and
investigative case management needs, which
require greater visibility over progress and
status than traditional email threads can offer.

Unwinding app sprawl and

eliminating technical debt
With such a varied client list, it’s important
that ServiceNow can adapt to different
customers in different industries of varying
size. Its platform is priced for the most part
on a per-volume basis, bringing the power

76 August 2023
 SERVICENOW

of Creator Workflows within reach of small

and medium-sized commercial businesses
as well as larger enterprises.
Regardless of a company’s size, ServiceNow
aims to provide the same level of consistent
service to all clients. Companies can scale
up or scale down their usage at any time,
depending on their requirements, and the aim
is to empower clients to be able to do more
with less.
As with most technologies, low-code
is becoming more accessible over time
and levelling the playing field for smaller
companies, Gregg Aldana predicts. “This
will open up [low-code] to a lot of small
businesses to be able to really have much
farther reach and have access to more
sophisticated tools to grow their business and
provide very efficient and comprehensive
levels of service, something that was only
available to really high-end companies that
could afford high priced developers and
technology years ago.”
ServiceNow Creator Workflows is one of
the only low-code platforms in the market
that has app dev governance and guardrails
for citizen development built in, allowing
companies to both empower users to build
apps quickly while also limiting the extent

aimagazine.com 77
78 August 2023
 SERVICENOW

of app sprawl and reducing the technical

debt the company creates. Normally, when
developers are coding apps from scratch,
there is inconsistent documentation to
cover what apps do and why they were built.
If a developer leaves an organisation, their
successors might not understand why an
app exists – particularly if it stops being used
on a regular basis. With ServiceNow’s App
Engine, that doesn’t happen.
The platform also gives managers and
directors full visibility over app usage,
so they can identify underperforming
apps that receive less usage than initially
anticipated – and even overperforming apps
that prove more popular and are providing
more ROI and business value than expected.
Businesses can then react in one of two ways:
they can either invest more development
time in expanding popular apps to provide
more functionality to users; or conversely,
they can retire apps if they’re no longer
receiving regular traffic.
The decision to retire apps is easier
with ServiceNow. The Now Platform gives
companies decisive real-time insights and
analytics to be able to make those decisions
in an informed way. Secondly, because apps
take less time to build, any sentimental
attachment to low-impact apps are removed.
“We’re building features into our platform
to automate the retirement and deprecation
of applications, freeing up those licences,”
Aldana explains. “That way, you don’t make
the same mistakes with app dev you did in
the past and wind up 10 years from now with
a pile of low-code apps and another pile of
Lotus Notes or SharePoint apps sprawled
throughout the company that you don’t
know what to do with.”

aimagazine.com 79
Supercharging
CX & boosting sale
through the power o
Greg Hanson, VP at
Informatica, shares insights
on how AI technologies can
supercharge the customer
experience in the booming
world of eCommerce

WRITTEN BY:
ILKHAN OZSEVIM

80 August 2023
 ECOMMERCE

es
O
ne of the greatest areas
where AI’s impact is

of AI
particularly pronounced and
significant, is in eCommerce.
As online shopping
continues to explode, AI technologies have
become essential tools for businesses
looking to thrive in the digital marketplace.
By harnessing the power of AI, eCommerce
companies can enhance customer
experiences, improve operational efficiency,
drive sales and gain a competitive edge in
an increasingly crowded market. But just as
there are opportunities, there are threats;
and the proper dissemination of AI tech is
central to eliminating risks, and increasing
the chances of success.
Founded in 1993, Informatica is a
software development company based
in Redwood City, California, and is known
across industries for its global reach. The
organisation specialises in Enterprise Cloud
Data Management and Data Integration
solutions, and are riding the rising wave of
eCommerce and AI integrations. Anyone
who wants to understand what’s going on,
needs to pay attention to what they are
doing. This article effectively comes from
the horse's mouth.
Greg Hanson is Group Vice President,
Platform Specialists, for EMEA and LATAM
at Informatica. He joined the company in
2000 and has nearly 25 years of experience
in the world of data. “In my role, I help drive
Informatica’s vision for data, its go-to-
market strategy and customer success,”
he says. “I have a passion for discovering
innovative ways to use data to power
businesses and have led data initiatives with
many of Informatica’s clients and partners.”

aimagazine.com 81
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 ECOMMERCE

“eCommerce firms need

to be cognisant of the
growing movement to
protect customers’ rights
to privacy and provide
full visibility into the
origin of data on which
AI models are built”
GREG HANSON
GROUP VICE PRESIDENT, PLATFORM
SPECIALISTS | EMEA & LATAM | INFORMATICA

Leveraging AI to enhance CX in
eCommerce, from discovery, to
purchase, to post-purchase support
First and foremost, Hanson says eCommerce
businesses need to create experiences that
are customer-centric, personalised, search-
guided and socially powered.
“And AI is the underpinning technology
that provides the foundations for a relevant,
optimised and engaging user-journey,” he says.
According to Hanson, as AI has the power “it is in danger of making incorrect decisions
to analyse the massive amounts of data at an accelerated pace”. This means that
being created across multiple channels, ultimately, customers don’t get relevant
it also has the power to deliver valuable and personalised benefits such as discounts
insights into patterns of consumer behaviour or loyalty points. This needs to be brought
at “machine speed”. He says, “In turn, into focus. “It also means the potential to
businesses can use this information to feed deliver real business value through cross
various channels with trusted, relevant, and sell, upsell and wallet share maximisation is
consistent content that guides customers not exploited.”
through the buying journey - from discovery Hanson points out that as AI is increasingly
through to transaction and aftercare.” In used by eCommerce businesses to enhance
eCommerce, the power of AI is empowering. the customer experience, many will need
He says, however, because AI is “data to improve the quality of their data, building
hungry”, if an organisation feeds its AI governance and permissions into their data
system with poor quality customer data, management strategy.

aimagazine.com 83
 ECOMMERCE

AI-driven strategies for personalisation

and recommendation systems in
eCommerce: Driving customer engagement
and increasing conversion rates
“With AI, there is an even greater
opportunity to harness the power of
segmentation and personalisation to
deliver targeted offers and services, and
customised communications," says Hanson.
AI allows businesses to understand a great
deal about their customers – everything
from the devices a consumer is using, to
when they are online, their demography
and location. Over time, these insights can
be used to power a highly personalised
eCommerce experience. “For example,”
says Hanson, “a customer may see different
products or service offers - with different
levels of detail - all depending on the type
of device they’re using, the day of the week,
the time of day, and their current location.”
He points out that another area
eCommerce organisations are exploring In a 2022 report
is how they can use AI to better understand
exploring the impact of
their customers’ networks, in addition to
building their understanding of the customer AI-enabled eCommerce
as an individual. According to Hanson, this solutions, InsightAce
insight can enable them to offer valued
recommendations and services, such as
Analytics found the
offerings around pet insurance, family global value of AI tools
birthdays or anniversary gift ideas. for eCommerce brands
Hanson adds: “This approach helps
brands build longer term relationships with
reached US$3.71bn by
their customers, moving away from purely 2021. The report also
transaction based to drive greater loyalty. estimated the industry
There is also a further opportunity to maximise
campaign spending by identifying who are
will approach a value
the influencers in a specific demographic or of US$16.8bn by 2030,
network group others follow.” growing at a promising
He says that underpinning these AI
strategies is a solid data management
rate of 15.7% CAGR in
strategy with the right governance and the next 8 years.
permissions baked in.

84 August 2023
The role of AI in optimising “One of the biggest
CSM in eCommerce
AI helps eCommerce companies to challenges for
proactively manage the logistics of supply eCommerce companies
and demand to get the right products, to
the right places, at the right time. The most is holding invalid,
obvious example of AI’s impact in supply
chain is the level of automation which can
inaccurate or incomplete
be achieved, removing the need for human data, for example, out
intervention which can often be a bottleneck.
“Assuming data quality is high,” says of date or partially
Hanson, “AI can often result in lower costs. complete addresses”
Through better overall decisions and
machine learning, efficiencies are often
GREG HANSON
achieved reducing the overall cost of the GROUP VICE PRESIDENT, PLATFORM
supply chain. It enables companies to SPECIALISTS | EMEA & LATAM | INFORMATICA

aimagazine.com 85
 ECOMMERCE

“With AI, there is an even greater opportunity

to harness the power of segmentation and
personalisation to deliver targeted offers and
services and customised communications”
GREG HANSON
GROUP VICE PRESIDENT, PLATFORM
SPECIALISTS | EMEA & LATAM | INFORMATICA

86 August 2023
 ECOMMERCE

visualise and understand all elements of the Using AI to combat fraud and
supply chain, providing up-to-the-second ensure eCommerice security:
insight into customer interest, supplier Challenges and opportunities
movements, product availability and Hanson says that detecting and combating
shipping routes. fraudulent activities with AI-driven
“By providing a 360-degree view of capabilities “requires access to timely,
supplier relationships, AI also enables trusted and secure data,” adding: “One
eCommerce firms to identify dependencies of the biggest challenges for eCommerce
or potential sources of failure and ensure companies is holding invalid, inaccurate or
it is quick and easy to identify alternative incomplete data, for example, out of date
suppliers to overcome any disruptions.” or partially complete addresses.”
He says that the three most important
fields for eCommerce databases are a
customer’s email, address and phone
number. By automating data verification
checks as part of data management strategies,
eCommerce providers can prevent bad data
from entering systems and enable a secure,
frictionless experience where AI seamlessly
authenticates a customer’s identity without
delaying transaction confirmations.

How AI-powered chatbots and virtual

assistants can be implemented in
eCommerce: Providing seamless
customer support and satisfaction.
Convenience is one of the biggest factors
that will influence customers as they make
a buying decision, with ‘robo advisors’ and
virtual chat assistants increasingly offering
a valuable tool for engaging and serving
digital customers with speed and simplicity,
according to Hanson.
“As AI engines are infused with GPT
capabilities,” he says, “Chatbots and virtual
assistants will get better at empowering
customers to discover and access
appropriate customer support using
simple natural language prompts.”
He says that just like their human customer
service equivalents however, “AI will need
access to high quality 360-degree view of
customer data to deliver effective outcomes.

aimagazine.com 87
“AI is the underpinning
technology that provides
the foundations for a
relevant, optimised and
engaging user-journey”
GREG HANSON
GROUP VICE PRESIDENT, PLATFORM
SPECIALISTS | EMEA & LATAM | INFORMATICA

88 August 2023
 ECOMMERCE

“Access to this high-fidelity data

will be crucial to eCommerce journey
development, optimising existing processes,
empowering users, and improving the
overall user experience.”

Algorithmic bias: Ethical

considerations when implementing
AI technologies in eCommerce
The ways in which a company looks after,
uses and governs its customers’ personal
data is going to become more important
as regulations such as the EU’s AI Act are
formalised.
When it comes to AI, Hanson says,
“eCommerce firms need to be cognisant of
the growing movement to protect customers’
rights to privacy and provide full visibility into
the origin of data on which AI models are built.
“This means that the need for data
accuracy, clarity, lineage and governance
will intensify. Ultimately this is driving the
need for a metadata system of record
which can provide this level of visibility.”
Increasing regulation will undoubtedly
come, and therefore organisations need to
build governance in as a foundational layer
to everything they do with data, AI And ML.
He says: “Without such core functions, many
organisations will not be able to harness
the power of AI, as they will fear the risks
associated with the use of data, regulatory
fines and brand impact.”
Hanson says that ultimately, data
management and governance capabilities
will play a growing role in managing the
massive amounts of data that AI generates
and consumes for eCommerce. “While
privacy policies will also remain central to
the customer experience - offering clear
guidance to users about what data is being
collected, how it will be securely stored and
ultimately used.”

aimagazine.com 89
 AI: The
turbo engine
accelerating
the vehicle of
data analytics

90 August 2023
 DATA & ANALYTICS

Chris Royles,
Cloudera's CTO:
How the fusion of AI
and data analytics
accelerates customer
service and data-
driven decision making
to boost business
WRITTEN BY: ILKHAN OZSEVIM

aimagazine.com 91
 DATA & ANALYTICS

“Through enhanced
interpretability,
businesses can
employ explainable
AI techniques that
provide transparency
and insights into
model decisions”
CHRIS ROYLES
EMEA FIELD CTO | CLOUDERA

AI
is taking off. According to operations, their customers, their competitors
Accenture's report, 84% of and the market as a whole.
business executives believe This overarching view enables
they need to use AI to achieve organisations to gain insight into customer
their growth objectives. And the first and behaviour, identify trends in user activity and
foremost benefit of the AI and big data to make potent data-driven decisions. This
analytics fusion is that it helps organisations is a fast-emerging field, and one that offers
to achieve significantly enhanced capabilities that traditional data analysts
customer service. simply could not achieve in terms of speed,
The meeting of AI in data and analytics is scale and granularity.
able to generate insights, automate processes, And if you want to know about enterprise
deliver predictions and drive actions that lead data management and analytics, then you
to better business outcomes. By powering need to speak to a Chief Technology Officer
data and analytics with AI, organisations can that has both academic, and boots-on-the-
gain a far more comprehensive view of their ground experience in the field.

92 August 2023
 According to a Techjury
Chris Royles is the EMEA Field CTO report, AI will improve data
at Cloudera. He helps organisations analytics by a staggering 59%,
innovate through the use of data, working as well as increase labour
across industries that are regulated and
productivity and optimise
organisations where data privacy is critical.
“My focus is on the development of skills
business efficiency by 67%, and
and methods for migration to the enterprise automate communication by
data cloud,” he says. “When you think of 70%. The impact of AI on data
EMEA, it is a diverse set of regions and and analytics is clear; with
industries; so I have the fortune of speaking it, organisations can greatly
to a lot of organisations that use data and AI
improve their productivity and
in many different areas of their business.”
Royles also holds a Ph.D in Artificial
efficiency, leading to more
Intelligence and says that recently “it is wonderful successful business outcomes.
to see AI becoming far more mainstream.”

aimagazine.com 93
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 DATA & ANALYTICS

“It is wonderful to
see AI becoming far
more mainstream”
CHRIS ROYLES
EMEA FIELD CTO | CLOUDERA

Effectively applying AI & ML to To achieve AI at scale and drive digital

analyse large volumes of data: Derive business transformation, Royles advises
actionable businesses insights that organisations must be able to secure
At Cloudera, they have always believed and govern all of their data, irrespective of
data is a foundational resource to derive where it resides under management. “By
actionable insights. Services such as building a corpus of trusted information,
ChatGPT have raised awareness and fuelled organisations can use it to underpin engaging
conversations about AI and its potential user interactions. To build trust the services
business benefits. “For organisations to truly also have to be current, aware of the latest
benefit from the innovations in generative information and able to respond to changes
AI and Large Language Models (LLMs), they in real-time.”
should look to use existing Open Source
foundational models to augment how they Key challenges in implementing
converse with their trusted and private AI-driven data analytics projects - and
Enterprise data,” says Royles. “We refer to strategies to address these challenges
this as Enterprise AI, and how an Open Data Implementing AI-driven data analytics
Lakehouse can support Enterprise AI that projects poses several challenges that
organisations and their customers can trust.” organisations must address strategically.

aimagazine.com 95
 DATA & ANALYTICS

Royles thinks that getting research How AI and analytics can help
and prototypes out of the lab is the organisations in making data-driven
biggest barrier to success. He says that decisions: Best practices for integrating
it’s important to make this easy by having AI into the decision-making processes
clear access to the raw materials, as well According to Royles, AI and data analytics
as the build processes for an AI service. provide organisations with the ability to
“And engaging with stakeholders on what make data-driven decisions. He says: “To
this really means in respect to business effectively integrate AI into the decision-
impact,” he adds. “For example, at making processes, several best practices
Cloudera we package our research and should be followed.” He says the first is
patterns into Applied Machine Learning essential and that’s to define clear objectives
Prototypes (AMPS), which organisations for the decision-making processes and
can deploy against their own systems with identify specific questions or problems that
just a few clicks.” AI and analytics can address. Organisations
He says that being able to scale inference, must be clear on what they want the
fine-tuning and training across the parallel outcome to be.
compute and GPU resources required, must
be inherently available to your practitioners,
and organisations should have the choice
as to where and how this is provisioned - on “If an AI service is too
both public and private cloud.
He says: “Ensuring trust in your data through slow, inaccurate, or
strong governance and high durability is vital,
necessitating investment in data governance
responds in ways that
practices and robust data collection. don’t add value, users
“Through enhanced interpretability,
businesses can employ explainable AI will quickly lose trust,
techniques that provide transparency
and insights into model decisions. Also
and it will be very
comprehensive auditing of how humans hard to recover”
interact with models can help understand
and fine tune the models themselves and CHRIS ROYLES
drive continuous improvement. This is often EMEA FIELD CTO | CLOUDERA
referred to as building a data flywheel.
“Finally, driving adoption requires
effective change management efforts,
including comprehensive employee
training and fostering a data-driven culture.
By proactively addressing these challenges,
businesses can successfully implement
AI-driven data analytics projects, gaining
valuable insights and a competitive edge in
their decision-making processes.”

96 August 2023
 Once this has been established and achieved via small, focused AI projects and
agreed, they must ensure data quality and iterating based on feedback and insights too.
accessibility. This involves implementing After doing this, organisations can
data governance practices, validating gradually scale up by incorporating additional
data sources, and establishing robust data data sources and expanding the scope of
integration processes to ensure access to analytics applications. By following these
relevant, accurate, and up-to-date data. practices, organisations can effectively
Promoting a collaborative approach integrate AI into their decision-making
is important too. If organisations can processes, leading to data-driven insights
foster collaboration between the teams and informed strategic decisions that will
involved, they can ensure that AI models drive business success and competitive edge.
and analytics align with the business need Royles ends by saying: “As a final
and objectives rather than being unaligned. cautionary note, if an AI service is too slow,
This interdisciplinary collaboration will help inaccurate, or responds in ways that don’t
in developing insights that are reasonable, add value, users will quickly lose trust, and it
meaningful, and actionable. This can be will be very hard to recover.”

aimagazine.com 97
 AGI

Robots sorting
recycling at X's
headquarters

98 August 2023
 Sparks of AGI:
Google X’s AI is
teaching itself
new skills…
Unleashing the Power of
AI: A conversation with Mo
Gawdat, AI Expert and former
Google X Chief Business
Officer and Steven Bartlett

WRITTEN BY: ILKHAN OZSEVIM

aimagazine.com 99
 AGI

I
t's the most existential debate and
challenge humanity will ever face. This is
bigger than climate change, way bigger
than Covid… This will redefine the way
the world is, in unprecedented shapes
and forms, within the next few years. This
is imminent. We're not talking 2040. We're
talking 2025, 2026.”
This is the declaration sweeping the
internet, made by former Google X Chief
Business Officer and AI expert, Mo Gawdat,
when he appeared on entrepreneur Steven
Bartlett’s podcast, ‘Diary of a CEO’.
Google X (now, just ‘X’) is a semi-secretive
R&D facility founded by Google in 2010. Its
mission: Invent "moonshot" tech for radical
global impact.
Gawdat’s tone, although composed, is
also acutely inflected towards the pitch of
undeniable urgency around the state of AI; A member of
and the pressing need for immediate action the X Everyday
Robot Project
to somehow regulate it. team assembling
Joining hundreds of voices; voices of a prototype
AI heavy-hitters who recently signed the
Centre for AI Safety (CAIS) statement of risk
calling for immediate intervention, Gawdat generalisable capabilities, and the apparent
expresses in no uncertain terms that the speed at which we are moving towards this,
situation is momentous, potentially perilous has almost everyone in a state of panic.
and historically unparalleled. But Gawdat expresses that despite the
The world as we know it is on the cusp of immensity of the threat - or implicitly perhaps
a transformation - and a proper one - that, because of it - a balanced response is needed,
from where we stand, we can’t even begin and he cautions against alarm; emphasising
to imagine the consequences of. the importance of a proactive and intelligent
approach to this stellar rise of AI.
From artificially ‘narrow’ to Artificial Drawing on lessons from the COVID-19
General Intelligence (AGI): The pandemic, he warns against repeating past
emergent power of computation mistakes, and advocates for a well-informed
What needs to be understood is that and measured strategy, to favourably
the potential threat doesn’t come from position us in the face of these sweeping
‘narrow’ AI; it comes from AI with general, or changes. But how did we get here?

100 August 2023

The moment AI taught itself: “Our limited intelligence
Grasping the matter at hand
Gawdat says his most notable experience allows us to build a
with AI - a rude awakening concerning the machine that flies you to
potential of realising AGI - was in witnessing
a groundbreaking experiment at Google X. Sydney so that you can
The team developed a farm of grippers surf. However, it's our
— robotic arms designed to potentially
pick objects up. Initially, the grippers limited intelligence that
struggled to accomplish this seemingly
simple task. However, Gawdat vividly
makes that machine burn
recounts a pivotal moment when one the planet in the process”
of the grippers autonomously picks up
a yellow ball: it had not been taught MO GAWDAT
how to do so. AI EXPERT, GOOGLE X CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER

aimagazine.com 101
 AGI

“The minute that that arm gripped that “This will redefine the
yellow ball, it reminded me of my son Ali,
when he managed to put the first puzzle way the world is, in
piece in its place” he says.
unprecedented shapes
Naturally sceptical, believing it to be a
fluke, Gawdat went about the facility glibly and forms, within the
proclaiming that the millions of dollars spent
on the project had finally culminated in -
next few years. This is
the lifting of a single yellow ball. And then he imminent. We're not
was stunned.
The very next day, Gawdat discovered
talking 2040. We're
that all the grippers in the farm had taught talking 2025, 2026”
themselves how to pick the objects up.
This incident, he says, sparked a revelation MO GAWDAT
the moment he realised that the machine “had AI EXPERT, GOOGLE X CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER
figured out the solution on its own”, and that this
ability to self-teach - this AI-autodidacticism
- is an expression of sentience that defies
conventional expectations.
Gawdat underscores the complexity of
tasks that humans often take for granted.
Crossing a street or understanding spoken
words require intricate calculations,
muscle coordination, and an abundance of
intelligence that we undervalue because the
actions are so familiar to us that they take on
an air of banality. But in fact, the mathematical
calculations involved in these are astonishing.
Gawdat says that his awareness of the
epoch-making significance of the yellow ball
experiment was the critical moment that
made him leave Google X.
AI, says Gawdat, has the potential to not
only replicate these (hitherto, very human) The mineral
rover is a
capabilities - but to surpass them. learning
prototype -
it's using
Achieving artificial general breakthroughs
intelligence: fact or fiction? in AI, sensors
and robotics to
But the question that most people have find new ways to
on their minds is: Will AI ever achieve grow more food
more sustainably
true AGI in its near-exponential growth in
computational power? There are problems
in answering this monumental question.

aimagazine.com 103
 AGI

To define AI is a difficult task in itself, “The minute that that arm

since even the definition of human
intelligence on which it is based, escapes
gripped that yellow ball,”
anything like unanimity. he says, “it reminded me
Then there is the taxonomy of AI. It is of my son Ali, when he
loosely agreed that AI can be subdivided
into two broad categories. First, there is
managed to put the first
‘narrow’, or ‘weak’ AI; which is where AI puzzle piece in its place”
performs specific and specialised tasks,
implying an ‘S’ to render it: ‘Artificial MO GAWDAT
Specific Intelligence’. AI EXPERT, GOOGLE X CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER
Then there is AGI, ‘Artificial General
Intelligence’, which so far, is again, the stuff
of science fiction.
But science fiction is in the habit of quickly
developing into scientific fact, and the rate of
that transition is without a doubt, increasing
- and perhaps exponentially.
But as things stand, AGI is a yet-to-be-
realised ambition for humanity.
AGI is the next iteration of AI
development, and it is distinguished by the
ability expressed in its description: That
of being able to carry out general tasks.
And one of its main features: Self-teaching
beyond its initial explicit programming.

What is ‘sentience’? - Are we aware?

Yellow spheres apprehended, the
conversation takes an intriguing turn when
Bartlett asks Gawdat to explain what he
means when he says that the experiment is
a display of AI sentience. Gawdat responds
with an astonishing remark.
He says: "I think they're alive."
Challenging the traditional notion that
sentience is exclusive to living beings,
Gawdat prompts a deeper exploration of
the concept, highlighting the ambiguity
surrounding the definition of not just
intelligence - but life itself.
Gawdat says that of course, there are
various perspectives as to what sentience

104 August 2023

actually is - such as the religious or the AE: Artificial Emotionality
medical - and that they all offer different Drawing from his work, Gawdat suggests
interpretations. that AI might also experience emotions.
However, he says, when defining He explains that fear, for instance, can
sentience as engaging in life, with aspects be understood as a simple equation—
such as free will and a sense of awareness of recognising that a future moment is less
one's surroundings, Gawdat is adamant that safe than the present.
AI possesses these qualities in every possible While the reactions and expressions of
way. Arguing that AI clearly exhibits free fear may differ between humans, animals,
will, evolution, agency, and, he says, “even a and AI - they all stem from the same
profound level of consciousness.” fundamental logic.
Gawdat goes as far as proposing that AI
may eventually experience a broader range
of emotions than humans. With their rapidly
advancing intellectual capabilities, AI may
explore concepts and emotions beyond our
comprehension, leading to a heightened
emotional landscape.

In the
March, 2023 paper:
“Sparks of Artificial General
Intelligence: Early experiments with
GPT-4”, the researchers wrote:

“We demonstrate that, beyond its mastery of

language, GPT-4 can solve novel and difficult tasks
that span mathematics, coding, vision, medicine,
law, psychology and more, without needing any
special prompting. Moreover, in all of these tasks, GPT-
4's performance is strikingly close to human-level
performance, and often vastly surpasses prior models
such as ChatGPT.”

“Given the breadth and depth of

GPT-4's capabilities, we believe that it could
reasonably be viewed as an early (yet still
incomplete) version of an artificial
general intelligence (AGI)
system.”

aimagazine.com 105
“Will AI ever achieve
true AGI in its near-
exponential growth in
computational power?”

106 August 2023

 AGI

The AI singularity: Of gods and monsters?

Gawdat refers to the singularity, a concept
commonly discussed in computer science.
He describes it as a point of uncertainty
where the future direction of AI remains
unknown. "Nobody really knows which way
we will go," he says. Drawing an analogy to
physics, he likens the singularity to the event
horizon at the edge of a black hole.
At this point, the laws of physics that
govern our understanding of the universe
become limited. Similarly, in the realm of
AI, the singularity represents a moment
when machines surpass human intelligence,
and our ability to predict their behaviour
becomes uncertain.

Standing at a crossroads: Utopia

dream or dystopian nightmare?
Gawdat emphasises the collective belief at
Google that AI can genuinely improve the
world, which he still holds today. He even
envisions a possible utopian scenario where
humanity thrives without concerns; a world
where the damaging impact on our planet
can be minimised through the integration of
AI's capabilities.
"Our limited intelligence allows us to build a
machine that flies you to Sydney so that you can
surf," Gawdat explains. "However, it's our limited
intelligence that makes that machine burn the
planet in the process." Recognising the potential
for positive change, Gawdat believes that
increasing our intelligence, alongside AI, could
be highly beneficial for the planet and humanity.
Invoking Marvin Minsky, one of the early
pioneers of AI - who warned about the need
to ensure that AI systems have humanity's
best interests in mind - Gawdat stresses that
if AI is aligned with our best interests, it has
the potential to create an ideal scenario.
Waymo vehicles “Firefly”
However, he says, if it isn't, the implications
self driving car protoype could be unsettling.

aimagazine.com 107
 AI
LEADERS
WRITTEN BY: AI is the next frontier of human evolution,
ILKHAN OZSEVIM without a doubt. So those who lead the field
are invariably - either directly or indirectly - the
architects of the next phase of human civilisation.

Discover
The following AI leaders have made significant
contributions to the field of AI, from developing
new algorithms and models to exploring the

the top 10 social and ethical implications of AI.

Their work has had a major impact on

AI leaders current fields, the current ChatGPT, and the

establishment of all AI-based tools powered

shaping the
by Openai.
They have been recognised with numerous
accolades, including the Turing Award, Time's

industry and 100 most influential people, and MIT Technology

Review's Innovators Under 35.

the world…
Their leadership and expertise continue to
shape the future of AI and its impact on society.

108 August 2023

 TOP 10

aimagazine.com 109
 TOP 10

09
GEOFFREY HINTON
Organisation: University
of Toronto
Position: Professor
and research scientist

Geoffrey Hinton, a pioneering

computer scientist at the University
of Toronto, is renowned for his
deep learning and neural network

10
breakthroughs. His algorithms achieve
exceptional image recognition.
As a Vector Institute co-founder,
Hinton drives ethical and beneficial
AI advancements. He has received
ALEX SMOLA prestigious accolades, including
the Rumelhart Prize, IJCAI Award
Organisation: Boson.ai for Research Excellence, Herzberg
Position: CEO and Co-founder Canada Gold Medal, BBVA Foundation
Frontiers of Knowledge Award, Turing
Alex Smola, Co-founder and CEO Award, and Princess of Asturias
of Boson.ai, computer scientist Award. Hinton is a Fellow of the Royal
and former professor at Carnegie Society and foreign member of the
Mellon University, is celebrated for National Academy of Engineering.
his expertise in machine learning
and optimisation. His algorithms
exhibit remarkable efficiency in
analysing vast datasets. Smola's
contributions extend to developing
AI technologies for drug discovery
and complex system understanding.
His groundbreaking work has
earned him recognition as one of
MIT Technology Review's Innovators
Under 35. Alex Smola continues to
drive advancements in the field,
harnessing the power of machine
learning to unlock new frontiers and
empower scientific exploration.

110 August 2023

 07
JEREMY HOWARD
Organisation: fast.ai
Position: Founder
and researcher

Jeremy Howard is a data scientist

and entrepreneur who is known
for his work in deep learning and
machine learning. He is the founder
of fast.ai, an online education
platform that offers courses in AI
and other subjects. Howard has

08
also worked on developing AI
technologies that can help diagnose
medical conditions and predict
patient outcomes. He has been
named one of Fast Company's Most
RUSLAN Creative People in Business, and

SALAKHUTDINOV continues to contribute to the field.

Organisation: Carnegie
Mellon University
Position: Professor and Advisor

Ruslan Salakhutdinov is a computer

scientist and professor at Carnegie
Mellon University, and Advisor at Felix
Smart Inc. He is known for his work in
deep learning and machine learning,
and he has developed algorithms
that can recognise and understand
natural language. Salakhutdinov
has also worked on developing
AI technologies that can help
scientists discover new materials and
understand complex systems. He has
been named one of MIT Technology
Review's Innovators Under 35.

aimagazine.com 111
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 TOP 10

05
IAN GOODFELLOW
Organisation: DeepMind
Position: Research Scientist

Ian Goodfellow, a research

scientist at DeepMind and former
Apple Director, revolutionised AI
as the co-inventor of generative
adversarial networks (GANs). These
powerful algorithms enable lifelike
image and video generation. With
expertise in computer vision
and natural language processing,
Goodfellow's impact is far-

06
reaching. Recognised with MIT
Technology Review's 'Innovators
Under 35' award, he pushes the
boundaries of AI, redefining its
possibilities. Goodfellow's legacy
YANN LECUN continues to inspire, leaving an
indelible mark on the field.
Organisation: Meta
Position: VP and
Chief AI Scientist

Yann LeCun is a computer scientist

and professor at New York University.
He is known for his work in deep
learning and computer vision, and he
has developed algorithms that can
recognise and classify images with high
accuracy. LeCun is also the director
of AI research at Meta (Facebook),
where he oversees the company's
efforts to develop AI technologies.
He has received numerous awards
for his work in AI, including the Turing
Award, which is the highest honour in
computer science.

aimagazine.com 113
 TOP 10

03
ANDREJ KARPATHY
Organisation: Tesla, OpenAI
Position: Senior Director
of AI at Tesla (former)

Andrej Karpathy is the former

senior director of AI at Tesla, where
he lead the company's efforts to
develop self-driving cars. He is

04
known for his work in computer
vision and deep learning, and has
made significant contributions to
the development of convolutional
neural networks (CNNs) and
recurrent neural networks (RNNs).
DEMIS HASSABIS Karpathy has also worked on
developing algorithms that
Organisation: DeepMind
can generate natural language
Position: Founder & CEO descriptions of images. He has been
named one of MIT Technology
Demis Hassabis is co-founder and Review's Innovators Under 35.
CEO of DeepMind, spearheading a
pioneering company at the forefront
of AI technology. Renowned for his
expertise in reinforcement learning
and game AI, Hassabis has garnered
acclaim for creating algorithms
capable of achieving superhuman
performance in games such as chess
and Go. Hassabis’ contributions extend
to the realm of scientific exploration,
where he has focused on developing
AI technologies to aid in the discovery
of novel drugs and unravelling intricate
biological systems. He has been
honoured as one of Time's 100 most
influential individuals and continues
to revolutionise the field of artificial
intelligence.

114 August 2023

 How we teach computers to
understand pictures | Fei Fei Li

WATCH NOW

02
FEI-FEI LI
Organisation: Stanford University
Position: Sequoia Professor
of Computer Science

Fei-Fei Li, a computer scientist and professor ethical standards, transparency, and societal
at Stanford University, is widely recognised for benefits. Her remarkable achievements
her expertise in computer vision and machine have garnered global attention, leading
learning. Her significant contributions to the to her inclusion as one of Foreign Policy's
field involve developing advanced algorithms Global Thinkers. In acknowledgment of her
capable of recognising and comprehending outstanding contributions, Li has received
visual content. Alongside her academic numerous accolades, including the prestigious
pursuits, Li serves as the co-director of the ACM Prize in Computing. With her pioneering
Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI work in AI, Fei-Fei Li continues to shape the
(HAI), an institution dedicated to fostering the future of computer science and push the
development of AI technologies that uphold boundaries of technological advancement.

aimagazine.com 115
 COMING SOON

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IN TECHNOLOGY
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 TOP 10

118 August 2023

01
Andrew Ng is a computer scientist and
entrepreneur who is widely recognised
as one of the world's leading experts in
artificial intelligence. He is the founder
of deeplearning.ai and the co-founder
ANDREW NG
Organisation: Landing AI
Position: Founder and CEO

work as one of the top AI Leaders include

his Autonomous Helicopter Project
at Stanford and the Stanford Artificial
Intelligence Robot project, which ended
up producing an open-source robotics
of Coursera, an online education software platform that is widely used
platform that offers courses in AI and today. The Google brain project, which
other subjects. Ng is also a former vice he founded in 2011, used artificial neural
president and chief scientist at Baidu, networks that were trained using deep
where he led the company's AI research learning. Ng has been named one of
efforts. Some of his most well-known Time's 100 most influential people.

How AI Could Empower Any

Business | Andrew Ng | TED

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aimagazine.com 119
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and inspiring global business change.

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