Learn to Love AI

The Oscar-winning film “Her” tells the story of a man who falls in love with the artificial intelligence (AI) personal assistant on his smartphone. That may sound far-fetched, but many consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are already enamored. Relying on cognitive computing systems that help harness big data insights provides a competitive edge in a changing business landscape. Really, what’s not to love? We asked Stephen DeAngelis, chief executive officer of Enterra Solutions (www.enterrasolutions.com), to break down the appeal.

What is cognitive computing and how can it further data initiatives?
DeAngelis: Researchers, hospitals and especially businesses are amassing terabytes of data every day that could reveal everything from more effective disease treatments to which products consumers are likely to purchase. To get at that information, big data analytics have become de rigueur, and global spending on big data is expected to hit $118 billion in 2018. But all that data requires a new degree of analysis. That’s where cognitive computing — computer systems designed to think and learn — comes in. Computers are adept at recognizing patterns and making connections. Using algorithms that help machines ingest large amounts of data and learn from it, we can reach deeper and pull out insights that could save lives, advance scientific discovery, speed up product development or help companies grow more efficiently.

Who will be responsible for interacting with cognitive computing systems?
DeAngelis: A lot of answers have been proposed for who should be responsible for owning cognitive computing systems within an organization, including CIOs, CMOs or CDOs. While one person may be in charge, organizations won’t be limited to one person interacting with these systems. Powerful cognitive computing systems should make it easy for business analysts to gain actionable insights from both structured and unstructured data that strengthen decision making. Current systems may require statisticians, data scientists and database engineers to sift through and analyze data, but the introduction of cognitive computing systems allow organizations to democratize data analytics and insights through natural language processing. Business analysts will be able to ask questions in natural language and the system will do the work of sifting through, analyzing and providing insights from the growing terabytes of data.

How can cognitive computing systems best be used by CPG companies?
DeAngelis: Less than 5 percent of the CPG industry’s $200 billion in marketing is targeted, but that portion will rapidly expand with cognitive computing. Drawing on disparate data around a customer’s past purchases, social media activity, location, weather, demographics and more, marketers can better target their efforts to help consumers discover new products that fit their tastes and needs, and create a more relevant and seamless customer experience. Cognitive computing accelerates and simplifies the process by making insights more accessible and actionable. These algorithmic marketing programs can reduce marketing spend and maximize the reach of every dollar. Marketing, however, is only the tip of the iceberg. The usefulness of cognitive computing systems is only limited by our imaginations.