Summary Bullets:

• San Francisco’s ban on the use of facial recognition technology by municipal agencies is noteworthy given the city’s high-tech affiliation and AI’s potential applications in public safety.
• The safety-enhancing benefits of facial recognition are not resonating; instead, the technology has become a lightning rod for societal concerns related to privacy and inequality.

San Francisco is set to become the first major U.S. city to ban the use the facial recognition technology by municipal agencies. On Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted in favor of the ‘Stop Secret Surveillance Ordinance,’ outlawing the use of the AI-based technology by city departments. The move is particularly noteworthy because it originates in a part of the U.S. otherwise known for embracing high tech and because it restricts the use of artificial intelligence for public safety, widely considered a top use case for facial recognition technology. However, San Francisco isn’t the only city evaluating restrictions on facial recognition; the issue is top of mind among lawmakers in many regions. Continue reading “Facial Recognition: A Lightning Rod for Societal Concerns in San Francisco” →

Summary Bullets:

• IT services players must change their ways to be more effective partners to their clients.
• At the NASSCOM Technology & Leadership Forum (NTLF) 2019, held in Mumbai, India in late February, Indian and international industry leaders shared best practices for managing AI’s impact on staff, reskilling teams, developing deeper customer relationships, and cultivating a culture that embraces change.

It’s not only about finding the right technology, curating large amounts of data, or identifying the best use cases. Successful AI depends on changing business processes. We often focus on the change that needs to take place at the enterprise, but what about the changes that IT services providers need to make in order to better serve their customers? IT services players must also change their ways to be more effective partners to their clients. Continue reading “At NASSCOM 2019, Executives Shared Best Practices for Addressing New Opportunities” →

Summary Bullets:

• A shortage of skilled AI professionals is one of the biggest hurdles to broader AI adoption by enterprises.
• Salesforce is embedding its solutions with Einstein-powered AI to make the technology more accessible to non-data scientists.

Businesses need artificial intelligence (AI) solutions that can be easily adopted and manipulated by line-of-business users. Although many organizations are eager to adopt AI, they are often held back by a lack of access to data scientists that can curate data and develop AI models that address their specific needs. This skills shortage is one of the top hurdles facing organizations when it comes to operationalizing AI. And it is precisely this challenge that Salesforce is looking to address by embedding its solutions with Einstein-powered AI. Continue reading “Operationalizing AI for Broader Adoption” →