Tag: ibm watson

IBM’s Watson: the only thing in the world that MIGHT be smarter than a Pace student

By Kaitlyn Houlihan

On Friday, April 21, 2017, a group of Seidenberg students and faculty took a trip over to Yorktown Heights, NY, for an exclusive tour of the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, IBM’s chief research facility and home of the ThinkLab. The tour focused on ThinkLab’s main areas of research: artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

The tour began with the history of the facility, the key problems researchers are currently working on, and an introduction to the Watson computer. To add to the excitement, this presentation was delivered on a multi-screen viewing system guided by a sensor-based wand, which was inspired by the touch-screen interface used by Tom Cruise in the sci-fi film Minority Report.

Afterwards, we got a glimpse at the first quantum computer! Quantum computers may sound like technology from a sci-fi movie, but they are very real and ready to tackle complex problems, such as investigating molecular interactions, discovering new drugs and materials, or enhancing data safety by applying the laws of quantum physics. IBM has built the first universal quantum computer and Seidenberg students got the chance learn how it works!

We then learned about how Watson and its artificial intelligence capabilities were developed, including the various ways Watson technology has been applied, from developing treatment plans for oncology patients to creating satiable recipes independently, and even how it was able to beat the two greatest Jeopardy! champs in existence in a televised tournament. This fascinated Computer Science major Jeana Cosenza, who was deeply interested in the functionality of Watson.

However, “functional” doesn’t even begin to describe the capabilities of IBM’s artificial intelligence system. In fact, the Watson system could very well change the way we learn, reason, innovate, and even conduct business… which should remind you of something else that will change the world as it continues to expand its ‘cognitive space’ and apply its knowledge to more areas. That ‘thing,’ of course, is a Pace student!

The very purpose of embarking on a trip to the ThinkLab was to introduce students to IBM’s groundbreaking research and, most importantly, to inspire students to be creative problem solvers. In seeing how researchers at the ThinkLab apply technology to solve myriad problems across various domains, students who went on the trip were able to gain a new perspective on the power of technology.

Saima Khot, a graduate student in Telecommunications Systems and Networks, said she learned a lot from the trip because she entered this experience knowing nothing about IBM’s research. But even those who were familiar with IBM research, namely Information Technology major Adriana Aluia who will intern with IBM in Austin, TX, this coming summer, were able to take away some knowledge and inspiration. And that’s exactly what Seidenberg’s out-of-classroom experiences are all about, whatever they may be!

On behalf of the trips’ co-sponsors, the Seidenberg Tech Collective and Women in Technology @ Pace, and the entire Seidenberg School of CSIS, we would like to extend our biggest thanks to IBM’s Jay Murdoch for giving a fabulous and informational presentation and warm welcome, and to Stephan Barabasi for making our visit possible. Visiting the ThinkLab and viewing all the amazing projects was a fun, educational, and inspiring experience for all.

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Thanks to Kaitlyn Houlihan for this fantastic piece!

 

Big Data Innovator Spotlight Series: Mike Adler, Principal at KPMG

The third and final of our Big Data Innovator Series took place on Wednesday, December 7th, 2016, with guest speaker Mike Adler sharing his wisdom and experience with a collection of students, staff, and faculty.

As a Principal in KPMG’s Insurance Management Consulting practice, Mike has significant experience working with leading insurance and financial services companies to drive transformation leveraging digital, data, analytics, technology, and best operational practices.

He started in accounting after graduating from Pace in 1988. It wasn’t long before he began to feel he needed to get into a new area – technology. “Computer science at the time was starting to evolve,” he said.

mike-adler-3He spent many years working at IBM, including working on Watson. He described how the famous artificial intelligence computer works by explaining that you give it enough information that it can begin to make connections and learn by itself. “You bring in all this data and content; you start teaching Watson what’s important. You teach it the relationships between different pieces of information. Watson starts to learn from that. You teach Watson to be a kindergarten student and Watson learns to become an elementary student, a high school student, and a college student.”

While they were on the topic of data, Dean Hill took the opportunity to ask Mike to give his definition of what big data is. “Big data includes things like social media, all forms of unstructured data, video – anything that you can use that relates to content. The challenge is working out how to get through that mass of information, which is growing exponentially every year, and find the nuggets you can use to make decisions.”

The challenge is a great one. It is estimated that the volume of unstructured data doubles each year, making big data enterprise analytics – the ability to sort through, understand, learn from, and recommend paths of action to take based on that data – is becoming an increasingly sought after skill set.

One of the really cool things Mike spoke about was KPMG’s Innovation Lab located in SoHo. “You walk in and you feel like you’re walking into a WeWork. They use the space to do a lot of Design Thinking and facilitation with clients, but also to do research in technologies and the future.”

After opening the New York Design Factory just a few months ago at Seidenberg, we were delighted to hear that design thinking is being practiced in big companies like KPMG!

“I’m very confident that you are getting some great experiences here, particularly around the technologies and architectures and how to apply them,” Mike said about the Pace education. However, it’s just as important to learn soft skills alongside technical ones. “I’ve found out – sometimes the good way, sometimes the hard way – that soft skills are equally as important.”

Mike is a big proponent of what he called “taking appropriate risks.”

“Before, we were taught to find out what the client wants, what the user wants, and deliver it to them. Now, though, it can be better to take appropriate risks – to say ‘I know this is what you want, but how about this?’ Think about a clean slate approach, think about a vision for the future, and be prepared to take risks around that.”

mike-adler-1What gives him the most pride about his career? “The risks I took. Going from a corporate environment to a consulting environment. When I joined Watson, I had no idea how it was going to take off or what it was going to do, but I took a risk, told myself it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I’m very glad I did. I’m also very proud of the client relationships I’ve built. In my business, it’s all about the clients and your relationship with them. I wake up every day thinking about who my clients are, what I can bring to them that I haven’t, what my team can do, and what new clients I might get. All my career, I’ve been very focused on mentoring people. I want people to succeed (or fail) with the appropriate guidance. I encourage you to put most of your energy around your clients and the people that work with, for, or around you.”

He also discussed how when you join a new company, the people already established there can be wary about new technology, and that soft skills can help overcome that challenge. Knowing how to help people respond to changes or new ideas is incredibly useful in the technology world. For example, helping the general population learn about why Watson is so significant.

“How do we get Watson to relate to the masses?” Mike asked. “Watson now has its own cookbook!” The idea is that by creating something familiar in an unfamiliar way can open the doors between two separate mindsets. “Technology opens people’s minds.”

A huge thank you to Mike for coming to visit us and sharing such excellent wisdom and advice. Thanks also go out to Deth Sao for organizing this fantastic speaker series!

Previous speakers in the series were David Kelly (MS Information Systems ’94) and Jason Molfetas (BS Computer Science ’87).

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