Machine learning is very much the ‘topic of the moment’. It is being discussed everywhere, whether as machine learning, or as artificial intelligence. Machine learning techniques and tools have been around for a while, however, so why now? Is it just an idea whose time has come, or have there
The fourth edition of the series brings me to Rijkswaterstaat, the Dutch government agency responsible for the main connecting infrastructure in the Netherlands (roads, bridges, waterways and water systems). I talked with Bas van Essen who’s responsible for RWS Datalab, the big data lab within Rijkswaterstaat (RWS). Company Overview RWS
There is general agreement that artificial intelligence (AI), data science and analytics have potential to change the world. AI is transforming our society already, and although I see tremendous potential in AI there are pitfalls and important ethical implications that needs to be considered. Science and ethics: Shades of grey
This article focusses on time-variant manufacturing processes, and how analytics can help boost their productivity. Many production lines relying on such processes are involuntarily operated using a suboptimal combination of input control settings most of the time. This weakens overall returns at facilities such as steel mills, mines, chemical and
There is general agreement that employment is changing. There is, however, much less agreement about precisely how it will change, although plenty of crystal-ball gazing has gone on. A study published by the World Economic Forum in 2016 suggests a rather nuanced situation with employment fluctuations likely to vary considerably
Bank customers are becoming more and more demanding. In the age of Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, we have become accustomed to personalized offers building on data that we have voluntarily provided. As a result, the first banks have already expanded on the AI system used by Alexa, to produce
Self-driving cars on our streets, Siri in our pockets, Alexa in the living room ... artificial intelligence and the machine-learning process behind it is already in use today. It is partly embedded in our everyday life, and partly still has a “wow” factor about it. For example, when we hear
For the third installment of this series I visited Marlies van Sonsbeek (CEO) and Andrew Hagens (Chief Innovation Officer) of Finaps in their beautiful office in the south of Amsterdam. Company Overview Finaps is a young innovative company founded at the end of 2010 by two former ABN-Amro colleagues. Not
The world is already embarked on the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution. This is likely to be hugely disruptive, and have a major impact on Society because it will change the way humans behave, are organized, and work, as well as the skills and competencies needed. It will also, however, have
Fake news is in the news again. Both in the US and in Europe. Facebook recently announced that it was allowing Congressional scrutiny of advertisements bought by Russians during the 2016 US election, as part of an ongoing investigation. It is a hard path to walk. Facebook has faced criticism
