Top 10 AI Influencers to Follow in 2021

ISSN 2582-127X

November 2021

Top

AI Influencers to Follow in 2021 What will the Year 2021 do with AI Influencers through Advanced Technologies?

AI Influencers: What Makes Them So Successful

Brian

Weaver

Founder and CEO

Torch.ai

intelligently and instantaneously to neutralize many potential threats.

Currently, people can see unexpected coupling, like CISO and legal, because both positions intersect on data governance. The EU Artificial Intelligence Act lays

EDITORIAL

the foundation for a sustainable digital economy, and the CISO will institute this data-driven future on trust.

T h e c y b e r s e c u r i t y m a r ke t i s c o n t i n u i n g i t s stratospheric growth and hurtling towards the trillion-

Protection of Information Security Paints the Future of Modern Organizations

A

dollar mark that was originally predicted on May 31, 2017. In 2004, the global cybersecurity market was worth $3.5 billion, and in 2017 it was expected to be worth more than $120 billion. Cybersecurity ventures predicts global spending on cybersecurity products and services will exceed $1 trillion cumulatively over the

s the organizations are stepping further into a

five-year period from 2017 to 2021. Worldwide

future that is solely built of data, the existence

spending on information security. Products and

of data police becomes more and more

services exceeded $114 billion in 2018, an increase of

essential. If the matter of protecting information is not

12.4 percent from 2017, according to Gartner, Inc. For

taken seriously, the companies will always be at risk of

2019, they forecast the market to grow to $124 billion,

data breach and it would impact their operations. Most

and $170.4 billion in 2022.

organizations appoint a team of information security to look after the security precautions and manage risks

IT analyst forecasts are unable to keep pace with the

and solutions. The head of this team is the Chief

dramatic rise in cybercrime, the ransomware epidemic,

Information Security Officer (CISO), who is the

the refocusing of malware from PCs and laptops to

u l t i m a t e p r o t e c t o r. T h e C I S O ' s r o l e s a n d

smartphones and mobile devices, the deployment of

responsibilities include protecting people, assets,

billions of under-protected Internet of Things (IoT)

infrastructure, and technology. The CISO serves a

devices, the legions of hackers-for-hire, and the more

critical role in assessing risk and acting in the best

sophisticated cyberattacks launching at businesses,

interest of the company in an effort to eliminate

governments, educational institutions, and consumers

threats.

globally. It is likely that analyst firms will catch up with our projections by the end of this year and update the

Hackers and malware are becoming increasingly

disproportionately low share of total IT spending which

sophisticated, creating rocky seas for anyone

security is expected to account for over the next 5 years

responsible for upholding security protocols. With this

in their current reports. By 2020, it is expected that IT

considered, it is critical to be able to motivate a team

analysts covering cybersecurity will be predicting five-

when facing adversity and challenges. That complexity

year spending forecasts (to 2025) at well over $1

is why AI technologies such as deep learning and

trillion.

machine learning have emerged as game-changing defensive weapons in the enterprise's arsenal over the past three years. There is no other technology that can keep up. It has the ability to rapidly analyze billions of data points, and glean patterns to help a company act

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08 Cover Story

Brian Weaver Torch.ai

ARTICLES

28

What will the Year 2021 do with AI Influencers through Advanced Technologies?

46

AI Influencers: What Makes Them So Successful

16

20

Jovan Stojanovic

Mark Montgomery

Anari AI

Kyield

36

30

42

Debayan Deb

Prithwi Dasgupta

Piyus Kanti

LENS Corporation

SmartKarrot

Cloudstrats

48

Srikanth Markonda Lorgan Pty Ltd

CONTENTS

COVER STORY

Brian Weaver Revolutionizing Machine Learning and Data Processing by Unifying AI

T

orch.ai is a platform that changes the paradigm of data and digital workflows by solving the core impediments caused by the ever-

increasing volume and complexity of information. The solutions of

Torch.ai have helped fight frauds, make better decisions of trust, secure information, evolve operational capabilities, and create better customer experiences.

The company specializes in artificial intelligence, risk avoidance, machine learning, risk mitigation, transaction processing systems, IT consulting, fraud prevention, enterprise data hub, OSINT, human capital intelligence, blockchain, autonomous systems, and geometric analytics.

08

Brian Weaver Founder and CEO Torch.ai

09

‘‘

Be a renaissance man or woman.

Seek to understand larger shi s in

work, economics, and globalization.

‘‘

Brian Weaver Founder and CEO Torch.ai

10

A Dynamic Leader Brian Weaver is the Founder and CEO of Torch.ai. He

where the idea for a new way to process and prepare data

spent his entire career in data and analytic intensive

with AI and machines was born in him. today, with the

environments. Brian founded a company more than 20

same spirit, ,Torch.AI has emerged as one of the most

years ago, where he developed somethingthat was

important companies in both machine learning and data

considered revolutionary at that time. It was well-known

processing spaces by breaking down very complex data

to be the consumer behavioural model for sporting

to the one that's extremely easy to use and implement.

events, primarily NASCAR races.

Brian says that he was able to build Torch.ai with the help

Later, Brian acquired one of the most important skill i.e.,

of an amazing team that is making transformational

data and information businesses in healthcare, with an

technology.

emphasis on FDA-regulated medical devices. That's

Breaking the Odds by Lightening the Burden on Data Engineering

In the early days of deploying solutions to clients like GE

Soon he realized that no one was paying attention to the

and Microsoft, Brian quickly realized that they suffered

hardest parts of data engineering. Brian generally saw

from the garbage in, and out. He reveals that not only did

the same results because everyone was doing the same

the customers struggle to extract value from their data,

thing. This is when he came up with a completely new way

but it also would be a terrible grind for his team. Brian

to process any information, from any source, of any type,

asserts that the moment of clarity in the midst of all that

while it was in motion. So, he pivoted the entire business

pain and the terrible grind was what put Torch.AI on the

to be focused on that critical challenge of making history.

right path.

w w w.t o r c h . a i

11

Willingness to Take Risk is the Path to Innovation

Fortunately, Brian had a successful career and has

“It's almost absurd to think that we built one of the most

founded, acquired, and sold several companies. But he

advanced machine learning companies in the world in

admits that there were eye-watering moments in his

Kansas. But it is our secret weapon. There is amazing

journey too. “When you set out to solve a big problem,

talent in this city and across the region” says Brian.

something that is global, super complex, and perilous,

Brian takes pride as there is no venture capital to speak of

you probably aren't making very well calculated

here. He affirms that even the coastal capital has only

decisions. Just to be honest and blunt, if I knew how hard

recently discovered opportunities in regions like his

this was going to be upfront, I might not have done it,”

company's. Because of the lack of capital, he invested his

mentions Brian.

own money and had to build a profitable company much

Brian believes that building something that has the

more quickly than it is typical. Customers had to like what

potential to revolutionize an industry takes really smart

Torch.ai delivered and hence would willing to pay. So out

people and a lot of money. He pursues innovation and

the other end of that journey, he brings a fast-growing

cost-effectiveness as the two odds. So in order to truly

company into light with amazing people, which is both

innovate, he says one must be willing to take risks.

profitable and delivers user-friendly products.

Focusing on Bridging the AI Gap

Brian remarks that there exists a huge gap in the

customers don't realize it now, they will soon and those

industry's AI field, the ability to explain simply what the

that haven't already embraced this philosophy will see

technology does for a client is lacking. He sees the gap in

their customer base erode quickly,” adds Brian.

solutions that can attribute, trace, and audit decisions

When talking about cloud, he stresses that it is not just a

which are called “auditable AI”.

technology, but is a business model. Brian states that the

“Leaders should be very focused on the bias, traceability,

best leaders are looking far down the path of evolving

and auditability at the data object level. Even if

that paradigm.

12

Taking Disruptive E orts to Understand the Target Audience

Brian suggests introspecting customer's real benefit to

audience better. One of his programs processes millions

particular innovations to understand the target

of documents every year across a huge IT infrastructure.

A Future with 'AI for Everyone' Brian mentions that he looks forward to a future where

nature of networks, both physical and virtual, there is an

AI is more broadly adopted. The CEO believes in the

ever-increasing deluge of information created. He

slogan 'AI for Everyone.' As Torch.ai removes the

anticipates that the storage capacity and computed

impediments of deploying machine learning at scale, he

performance will continue to get cheaper in the near

sees the industry continuing to expand at a breakneck

future. It will further trigger certain patterns of

pace.

decisions at any enterprise.

Brian presumes that with the increasingly complex

A Piece of Advice: Look Beyond Your Focus “Read a lot, but not just about machine learning. Be a

the day, it isn't the weapon that matters as much as the

renaissance man or woman. Seek to understand larger

skill of the person who wields it.” says Brian, as an

shifts in work, economics, and globalization. At the end of

inspiring note to the emerging leaders.

13

Brian Weaver

Debayan Deb

Founder & CEO

CEO & Founder

Torch.ai

LENS Corpora on

Brian Weaver is the Founder and CEO of Torch.ai. He spent his en re career in data and analy c intensive environments. Brian founded a company more than 20 years ago, where he developed something that was considered revolu onary at that me. Later, his interest in finding disrup ve ways to process and prepare data with AI and machine learning helped him build Torch.ai.

Debayan Deb is Co-Founder and CEO of LENS Corpora on. His fascina on for computer vision quickly turned into a passion that was worth pursuing in 2015.

Debayan wanted to be a part of the next Applied AI revolu on that was approaching at the me. Not so long later, in 2016, he officially launched a company known as LENS with an aim to grow local businesses through AI.

www.torch.ai

www.lenscorp.ai

Mark Montgomery

Piyus Kanti

Founder & CEO Kyield, Inc Mark Montgomery is the Founder and CEO of the KYield, Inc. His interest in AI goes back to 1984.

Ini ally, Mark and his wife owned an inn that hosted a variety of individuals and groups, including UW, PNNL, HP, and Microso . The idea of star ng KYield came to Mark while opera ng GWIN, a social/learning network. He started the company while he was s ll running an earlystage VC firm.

Top

AI Influencers to Follow in 2021 Prithwi Dasgupta

Srikanth Markonda

Founder

CEO & Co-Founder

Founder & CEO

Cloudstrats

SmartKarrot

Lorgan Pty Ltd

Piyus Kan is the Founder of Cloudstrats. Besides holding the honourable posi on, he is also a tech entrepreneur, solu ons architect, and investor, and the founder of Powai Valley Ventures, a tech start-up accelerator. Piyus also led technology and informa on security management with eClerx.

He has been involved with various interna onal consul ng and solu on architecture assignments with several Fortune 500 companies around the globe.

Prithwi Dasgupta is the CEO and CoFounder of SmartKarrot, an intelligent customer success pla orm that focuses on enabling predictable and repeatable business growth. He is an expert business leader with more than 22 years of business management experience.

Before star ng SmartKarrot, Prithwi was the President of the technology business unit of a healthcare IT firm, where he was leading a team of over 1500 professionals.

Srikanth Markonda is the Founder and CEO of Lorgan Pty Ltd, an innova ve Australia-based ar ficial intelligence and IoT organiza on. He has global experience of working in India, USA, Europe, and is currently based out of Australia. He holds a master’s in technology from IIT and a cer fica on from MIT in ar ficial intelligence. Srikanth has prior technology execu ve experience from Emagine, Infosys, Verizon, Wipro, and TCS.

www.cloudstrats.com

www.smartkarrot.com

www.lorganglobal.com

Jovan Stojanovic

Ronald van Loon

Bernard Marr

Andrew Ng

Co-Founder & CEO

CEO & Principal Analyst

Founder & CEO

Founder & CEO

Anari AI

Intelligent World

Bernard Marr & Co

Landing AI

Ronald van Loon is the CEO and Principal Analyst of Intelligent World.

His con nuous pursuit to advance educa on and thought leadership in big data, IoT, AI, machine learning, 5G, deep learning, predic ve analy cs, cloud, edge and data science has helped him become a global influencer and thought leader.

He has also worked with data-driven companies to generate business value so that they may meet and exceed goal a er goal.

Bernard Marr is the Founder and CEO of Bernard Marr & Co, worldleading independent think tank and consul ng organisa on providing wri ng, speaking, consul ng, training and research services in tech areas. He is an interna onally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a strategic business, and technology advisor to governments and companies.

Bernard helps organiza ons improve their business performance using disrup ve technologies.

Andrew Ng is the Founder and CEO of Landing AI. Besides this role, he also holds and held five other honourable posi ons in companies including DeepLearning.AI, Coursera, Baidu, and AI Fund. Andrew is also an adjunct professor in the computer science department at Stanford University. He worked as a founding lead of the Google Brain deep learning project and authored or co-authored over 100 research papers.

www.kyield.com

Jovan Stojanovic is the Co-Founder and CEO of Anari AI. He is a serial entrepreneur with more than 12 years of experience in tech with a focus on ar ficial intelligence. Jovan founded Anari AI in 2020, alongside Bogdan Vukobratovic and Stefan Sredojevic, to rebuild the hardware AI industry from scratch. The trio works by delivering a new way of designing and using AI chips in the cloud. www.anari.ai

www.intelligentworld.org

www.bernardmarr.com

www.landing.ai

Jovan Stojanovic Deploying Innovative AI Solutions to Create an Impact in the Industry

A

nari AI is delivering a new way of designing,

accessible to every development team that wants to

deploying and consuming cloud AI chips. Their

create its own solution - at the fraction of the costs and

reconfigurable AI lets customers personalize

in a minimum of time. They don't have to spend years and

their infrastructure in clicks instead of weeks and

millions of dollars on chip design anymore. With the

months; it also enables chip designers to rapidly create

Anari Platform hardware is turned into software and

and deploy their solutions. Its purpose is to deliver the

cloud chips are accessible for big and small players alike

most intelligent AI inference across several industries.

on the worldwide stage. The first customizable AI

The company was founded with the belief that

chip/engine on Anari Platform is Thor X, delivering

transparency and innovation create a culture of

100x more efficient computation of 3D Point Cloud

ownership and empowerment. Anari AI believes in

data structures when compared to a general purpose

innovation, responsible AI, reconfigurable AI and AI-

processor.

driven solutions.

A Dynamic Leader Driving Innovation by Leveraging Hardware and AI

Jovan Stojanovic is a serial tech entrepreneur with more

Solutions

than 12 years of experience in tech with a focus on

The company is driving innovation by bringing a new way

artificial intelligence. He co founded Anari AI in 2020,

of working and thinking about hardware and AI.

alongside Bogdan Vukobratovic and Stefan Sredojevic,

Realizing that some things didn't change for decades in

to rebuild the hardware AI industry from scratch. Anari

the hardware industry, Anari AI has put artificial

AI uses AI to build custom accelerators for other variety

intelligence into the service of hardware design. The

of AI processing.

company delivers cloud chips accessible in only one click

The CEO role in Anari AI startup requires a lot of

by creating the first cloud chip factory which is a unique

dedication in every aspect of Anari's work--- from

virtual space for their design, usage and development.

product development to team management.

That means that chip design and usage become

Jovan would like to emphasize that Anari AI was born as a

16

Jovan Stojanovic Co-Founder and CEO Anari AI

17

‘‘

Anari AI will help in the decentralization of the hardware AI industry by delivering the

new way of designing, deploying and consuming cloud AI chips. Anari needs to decrease complexity of chip design, deployment allowing end customers to have the most optimized and scalable AI inference. That's the only way the company can make the future better by providing chances for creating something to all those who have ideas and visions.

‘‘

Jovan Stojanovic Co-Founder and CEO Anari AI

18

w w w. a n a r i . a i

part of the Wonderland AI ecosystem that he launched

should be capable of understanding the fundamental

five years ago to create a unique place for AI tech

principles of problems they want to solve and after

promotion and development. “The AI community

thinking about unique new approaches where AI is

gathered 30,000 practitioners, enthusiasts and

augmented in every corner” expressed Jovan.

researchers worldwide so far. They're contributing to our mission within four Wonderland AI organizations:

Leveraging AI with Small Steps

Anari AI, Wonderland AI Summit, Serbian AI Society,

Jovan is driven by a strong passion for AI because he

CITY AI and Angelico,” said Jovan.

realized as to the powerful changes it can bring into the world. “Putting AI into the service of society is the best

Important Lessons that Pave a Way to Success

thing the team can do in the future, considering that

Jovan has gained many important lessons while trying to

there are so many fields where AI can boost creativity

build a startup within a group of people where they didn't

and improve how things work” he added. So according

share the same passion and a long-term vision. Before

to Jovan, the most important thing every AI leader can do

Anari AI, there were some other similar situations where

is to make some effort to create a better environment

he realized that there's no way one could overcome all

using AI and make sure that people around them

challenges on a startup journey if one is not surrounded

understand all the benefits of AI usage. Many small steps

by the right people who really do believe in a common

could create a powerful change if all engage around the

vision, and most importantly who are ready to sacrifice

benefits provided by the most intelligent technology

their time for it. So, he considers a good team to be a

ever.

crucial part of building something that is meant to succeed and bring a change.

An Advice to the Aspiring Tech Leaders

His biggest achievement is Wonderland AI --- it presents

Jovan suggested that one must ensure a good

a mindset that is not only innovative and revolutionary

understanding of what the person is bringing to the table

but it also lays a foundation to the AI change where

and do not hesitate to keep trying as many times as it

people contribute to some of the most complex

takes until it turns into success. The AI future is coming

challenges that the entire humanity faces today.

sooner than we are expecting. He mentioned that one must always be ready to dare challenges to the current

Mitigating Challenges with Visualization

principles and ways how things work.

Jovan, Bogdan, and Stefan found Anari AI when the whole world stopped because of the COVID-19 crisis

A Future with One Click to Stay Ahead of the Curve

which was the biggest challenge at that moment.

J ov a n b e l i eve s t h a t A n a r i A I w i l l h e l p i n t h e

Although they have always had a strong faith in what

decentralization of the hardware AI industry by making it

they wanted to achieve, there were many risks which

accessible to everyone. “ Hardware needs to be simple as

they had to face in such uncertain times. Fortunately,

software. That's the only way how in the future we will be

every single person in the team could visualize what shall

able to design, scale and maintain AI systems. The

come as a reward for hard work and here the company is

industry needs a new mindset and revolutionary changes

changing the hardware AI industry and bringing some

in terms of how the world observes technology and AI-

really great opportunities for the HW community.

related possibilities. In the future, every company will need the most optimized AI services for various

Empowering Society with Unique AI Approaches

problems that are easily accessible in just one click”

Jovan considers that AI leaders should empower their

concludes Jovan.

people to think in a radically different way. “First, people 19

Mark Montgomery Impeccably Changing the AI Landscapes with Over Two Decades of Expertise

M

ark Montgomery is the Founder and CEO of

stage VC firm. In 2006 he filed a patent application

the KYield, Inc. His interest in AI goes back

covering a portion of KOS which is what we today call as

to 1984. Mark recounts the days when he

the distributed AI OS. He states that the AI systems

and his wife owned an inn that hosted a variety of

patent wasn't approved until 2011. Meanwhile in 2010

individuals and groups, including UW, PNNL, HP, and

he announced his healthcare platform, and in 2012 Mark

Microsoft. Two decades later the head of research at

tested the basic data structure with a mutual vendor on

Microsoft has referred to Mark's inn as the 'learning' inn.

one of the largest financial networks.

He remembers about his late friend Russell Borland who

“From 2009-2016 I was also a frequent guest at the

was a frequent guest and was an early employee of

Santa Fe Institute. I've engaged with senior management

Microsoft and key person for Word among other

in many of the world's leading organizations over the last

products. Mark says Russell joined his lab as a board

decade”, adds Mark.

member and advisor just before retiring from Microsoft in 1997.

AI Systems that Taught Hard Lessons Mark mentions the hard lessons he learned during his

Experimenting with Technologies and Firms

journey from the idea to commercialization of large-

In 1995 Mark founded the knowledge systems lab as a

scale AI systems. He says that those experiences were

small business network, and in 1997 he launched GWIN,

the reasons which profoundly shaped him. As running

which was a cutting edge social/learning network. “I ran

the early lab and networks is critically important, he

the lab solo from our property in rural Arizona. The idea

notes that Russell Borland, Les Vadasz, Vint Cerf, and

for KYield came to me while operating GWIN almost 25

other board members, and many others have played a

years ago now”, says Mark.

great role in developing the lab. Mark believes that

But soon he realized that it would take at least a decade

several years as a frequent visitor at SFI had certainly

before the technology would be viable and during that

influenced his journey too. Mark remarks another big

time, Mark incubated KYield while running an early-

impact that has shaped him that was when his brother

20

Mark Montgomery Founder and CEO KYield

21

‘‘

Many people have jumped on the AI bandwagon in recent years claiming

to be an expert who hasn't done the work. They need not have a PhD, but frankly they should have the equivalent of multiple advanced degrees combined with at least a decade of applied experience.

‘‘

Mark Montgomery Founder and CEO KYield w w w. k y i e l d . c o m

22

was diagnosed with ALS and it was the same year when

enterprise-wide AI systems”, says Mark. He feels that his

he was motivated to accelerate R&D.

experience has been a bit like that expressed by Steve Jobs – “Our task is to read things that are not yet on the

The Two Attributes for Success

page”. Now, Mark takes pride in saying that the KYield is

Firstly, Mark says that he didn't set out to become a

attempting to remain many years ahead of the herd.

leader or an influencer in AI. The most important part he believes is to invest time is to understand the science,

Knowledge on Disruption Tech which Leads the Way

engineering, operational, and business environments,

Mark strongly affirms that disruptive aspects of the

without which he affirms to have no credibility. To

technologies are just beginning to have an impact on

become competent in AI systems, he presumes that it

healthcare, education, and government, which are

requires consuming tens of thousands of papers across

resistant to change yet also the sectors society needs to

several disciplines, including computer science,

change the most due to economics and need.

mathematics, and physics, though he also recommends

He says that we are already at the stage where CEOs of

economics, neuroscience and psychology.

most organizations should be well along in the process of

Secondly, he stresses upon getting some good hands-on

becoming experts in AI systems. Otherwise, he believes

experience in an applied lab. He firmly trusts that when

that they won't be able to even recognize whether an

an individual can demonstrate rightly, they are capable of

advice is good or bad and it may turn out to be one of the

understanding science and engineering better to forge

greatest problems that business nations would face.

new ground, that's when he says one can become an influencer.

Embracing the Challenges Optimistically The first decade of KYield was devoted primarily to the

Fostering Innovation to Stay Ahead

theoretical research and technical viability and Mark on

“We've had great many direct discussions along the way

the other hand didn't formalize the underlying

of course, but when we first approached senior

mathematical theorem until a few years ago. After which

management teams in the world's leading organizations,

he met with a CEO of a leading tech company in 2007 and

not a single one had ever considered the concept of

had some partnership talks and his scientific fellows

23

reported that KYield was impossible. Though it wasn't

invention called the synthetic genius machine (SGM), by

impossible, Mark thought the CEO understood it.

reflecting much of the last decade in R&D at KYield. He

Mark's commercialization journey began after the initial

thinks the SGM represents the future quite well as it will

patent was approved and data structure got tested.

provide the narrow superintelligence as a service at the

KYield was initially limited to organizations that had a

confluence of data physics, AI, and quantum computing.

supercomputer, but in 2010, he estimated the cost of a

Through this, his primary value to society will be

primitive pilot to be about US$100 million. Even though

accelerated discovery, research and development.

he didn't sell any, most showed a high-level interest into buying it.

Words of Wisdom to the Buds

When the AI revolution really began to take off in 2014

Advising the budding leaders Mark stresses, “Be

followed by tens of billions of dollars of investment, there

prepared. Many people have jumped on the AI

was an increase in performance which led to the reduced

bandwagon in the recent years claiming to be an expert

cost for his KOS by more than a factor of 10.

who hasn't done the work. They need not have a PhD, but

Mark says that KYield has come a long way in the 25

frankly they should have the equivalent of multiple

years since the idea stage. And he also wrote an article on

advanced degrees combined with at least a decade of

the top ten obstacles to successful enterprise AI recently

applied experience”.. He finally adds that KYield has

for those seeking more detail.

disclosed their 15 EAI management principles recently, which is a good place to start.

A Future Representing SGM In this context, Mark talks about his most recent

24

AI Influencers What Makes Them So Successful?

F

rom 2018 a new and unexplored market

experienced impressive growth in AI Influencers.

What Is an AI Influencer?

By now, you might have already heard about AI

The idea of AI influencers has been around starting

influencers but if you have the interest to learn more is in

around 2016 and sometimes much sooner than that.

human nature. Or this is the first time you are coming

Nonetheless, it wasn't until 2018 that AI influencers

across this peculiarity, and you are anxious to become

began acquiring footing, and according to most

familiar with AI influencers and digital models.

predictions, 2021 will be a significantly greater year for

Notwithstanding, you have come to the right place,

digital influencers. As you can tell from the name, an AI

where you learn everything you want to know about AI

influencer is an influencer based on Artificial Intelligence

influencers and the eventual fate of influencer

(AI).

marketing.

28

Note that there are also genuine individuals alluded to as

the market for AI influencers is only developing and that

AI influencers, and they are generally prominent

their effect on Instagram and YouTube is expanding

developers and specialists in the field of artificial

constantly, one can be are sure that they will be around

intelligence. But this article talks about the AI

for a long time. There are also a few significant brands

influencers that are not humans.

that are intending to work with these influencers in the following year so one can anticipate a great deal of

From the start, it may appear to be abnormal to utilize a

action.

robot for influencer marketing but the matter of the fact is that AI influencers will have effectively turned into an

Nonetheless, one cannot forget that these are robots

intriguing issue, and a few of the world's greatest brands

and advanced manifestations and that somehow or

have utilized them for exceptionally fruitful missions.

another that conflict with the establishment of

The interest is mostly driven by the fashion and lifestyle

influencer marketing. The reason influencer marketing

industries. For instance, an AI influencer on Twitter or

turned out to be a particularly colossal industry was that

Facebook isn't as famous or successful yet since it

it considered "ordinary" people to elevate items to other

requires a real human association. On Instagram, in any

"typical" people. The relationship was and still is human-

case, one can without much of a stretch distribute an

like, based on trust and regard.

energized picture of an influencer wearing brand clothing with an extraordinary caption.

Up until now, this is the sort of thing that AIs cannot accomplish, and their advertisements will stay

That being said, over the most recent months, a few of the

impersonal. Furthermore, in light of this, it seems like,

most noticeable digital models have begun

even though AI influencers could keep on growing, a total

overwhelming YouTube demonstrating that AI

takeover of the business is extremely unlikely.

influencers can deal with something beyond Instagram

Additionally, AI influencers are more subject to a bigger

promotions. One of the additional intriguing parts of AI

after than the remainder of the business, and the idea of

influencers is that they get a lot of supporters. There are

miniature and nano influencers is not appropriate for an

AI influencers with a large number of adherents, and

AI-driven market.

apparently, these great many devotees know that AI influencers are just utilized for marketing. All in all, there

In conclusion, another intriguing potential improvement

has been a shift from where individuals by and large

that this could result in has to do with individuals behind

attempt to keep away from promotions on TV and

the influencers. Right now, all of the large AI influencers

around the net by utilizing advertisement blockers and

are made and constrained by advanced brands working

such to a period where individuals are effectively

in AI and CGI. Nonetheless, what is preventing brands

searching out showcasing channels via online media.

from making their own advanced models? Could Gucci

Thus, this shift is assisting brands with arriving at a more

make their own AI influencer that only addresses them?

extensive client bunch while additionally expanding the

Furthermore, should not something be said about if

chances within influencer marketing.

Gucci has its own influencers and Prada has another, what might prevent the two brands from exchanging

What is The Future of AI Influencers?

influencers and working together?

All in all, are AI influencers are actually the future, or is it a prevailing fashion that will pass? Taking into account that

29

Debayan Deb Providing Artificial Intelligence- Powered Solutions to Drive Innovation

L

ENS Corporation is focused on providing an AI-

requirements; the latter primarily focuses on improving

powered solution to multiple problems by

the accuracy of AI systems while operational efficiency is

enabling machines to view and perceive. It

the key in the industry and then it became imperative for

provides state-of-the-art artificial intelligent in-house

him to bridge this gap, and that's where LENS came in.

developed solutions while collaborating with multiple AI

Now, LENS is at the forefront of cutting-edge, efficient,

and ML developers across the world. Some of the

and trustworthy AI systems, paving a new path forward

ongoing projects of this company are infant fingerprint

to create explainable and universally intelligent

recognition, contactless fingerprints, and primate face

solutions.

recognition.

Extensive Research that Paves the Way to Success The Company that was Born Out of Bridging the Gap

Debayan pointed out, “How we do it is just as important

Debayan Deb is Co-Founder and CEO of LENS

as why we do it” and exactly following it, LENS

Corporation. His fascination for computer vision quickly

Corporation follows a three-step process to ensure

turned into a passion that was worth pursuing in 2015.

solutions appeal to a wider range of audiences. First step

Applied AI was the next big thing in the market back then

is the research on pushing the state-of-the-art. Then, it

and Debayan wanted to be a part of it. Not so long later, in

enhances the efficiency of solutions under various

2016, he officially launched a company known as LENS

operational scenarios. Lastly, the team considers the

with an aim to grow local businesses through AI.

social implications of algorithm-based decision-making

To solidify his understanding of the market and to gain

and ensures that the AI systems are trained ethically-

knowledge in computer vision, Debayan started his Ph.D.

represented high-quality datasets to eliminate human

with one of the pioneers of modern-day biometrics, Dr.

cognitive biases fairly.

Anil K. Jain. During his studies, he realized that the

To stay ahead of the curve, it also publishes academic

i n d u s t r y a n d a c a d e m i a h ave v a s t l y d i f f e r e n t

whitepapers with prominent researchers in the AI realm.

30

Debayan Deb CEO and Founder LENS Corporation

31

‘‘

Be thirsty for acquiring knowledge

by reading novel academic papers and also should invest time in studying new emergent companies. Gone are the times when a leader could only focus on

‘‘

managing the day-to-day.

Debayan Deb CEO and Founder LENS Corporation w w w. l e n s c o r p . a i

32

Leadership that Heads the Domain

to the same vision--- wanting all machines to understand

Debayan mentioned that AI is one of the fastest-

the world as humans do.

growing fields and disruptive technologies are widespread. To stay relevant, he said that it is crucial to

Traits of an AI Leader

keep one's feet to the fire in both literature and

According to Debayan, 'visualizing beyond today' should

academia.

be a foremost quality in an AI leader. Understanding the

He suggested to be thirsty for acquiring knowledge by

impact of technology is equally important to sustain the

reading novel academic papers and also stressed that we

greatest of challenges.

should invest time in studying new emergent companies.

He asserts that at times, AI is more of an art than a

“Gone are the times when a leader could only focus on

science. In research, there may be some crossroads

managing the day-to-day. A leader must also constantly

wherein numerous directions seem feasible and hence

strive to understand where the domain is heading” says

Debayan believes that it is vital to trust the instincts,

Debayan.

rather than coming to a standstill where logic is unable to find a path forward. “As a leader, one should be working

Holding Onto the Vision to Win Over the Hard Times

collaboratively with the team to find optimal solutions to

Early on, the team participated in pitch competitions

hard problems” he claims.

where start-ups present business ideas, such as SpartyPitch and The Hatch. The idea of applying AI

Words of Wisdom for the Budding Leaders

solutions to a variety of different applications secured a

Since this branch of computer science has been non-

win that further validated the need for LENS.

conventional till now, it might seem there is a dearth of

In addition, pursuing a Ph.D. further intensified his

opportunities--- which is a common myth.

understanding of the market and gave an edge over

Debayan believes that AI has been on the rise for a few

competitors. It greatly accelerated the ability to see the

ye a r s n o w a n d s o l u t i o n s t h a t s a t i s f y m a r ke t

near future and provided a vision to see where the field is

requirements are not met by the available supply of

heading. During the hardest of times, the team holds on

researchers and engineers. Many niches have also been

33

overlooked by academia and industry alike.

accuracy, efficiency, explainability, and transparency.

His advice would be to take the leap of faith, study the

The solutions, while maintaining the necessary

market, believe in the skills, and develop own ideas. He

intellectual property rights for clients, customers, and

wishes all the budding leaders or executives best of luck!

end-users, include a guarantee to leverage everything at our disposal to ensure complete transparency, till all

Empowering Tough Times to Meet Deliverables

“how” and “why” are answered satisfactorily.

In order to stay relevant and ahead of the competition, LENS decided to be a research-first company, instead of

Another area where AI is vastly overlooked is “AI for

making available solutions to mundane problems. The

social good”. LENS actively provides solutions to global

team also decided to be 100% bootstrapped - the idea

challenges including but not limited to, assigning digital

being that the pace of growth will be directly impacted by

ID (biometrics) to everyone (including infants and under-

the quality of research, which has worked in its favor.

developed regions), by helping in conserving wildlife,

Internally, Debayan expresses that when one starts to

forecasting natural disasters (for instance, via aerial

expand the team while collaborating with team(s),

imagery), and so on. The contributions towards this goal

working on multiple ideas needs to be streamlined to

can go a long way towards instilling trust, fairness, and

keep on track so that the deliverables are met through

security for society at large.

agile sprints.

LENS, which is complemented by a research-driven The Future Towards Instilling Trust, Fairness and

approach, strives to overcome some of the noted

Security

challenges of AI, such as ethical training and bias-free

The company's motto states, “Trustworthy AI”. Yes, that's

decision-making while preserving user privacy which is a

the idea for the next decade. Now that AI systems are

key to transform the industry ahead. LENS is building the

saturating in terms of accuracy in many domains,

future of AI, together.

Debayan wishes to see new AI systems that excel in---

34

Prithwi Dasgupta Empowering Customer-Centric Businesses with Intelligent Automation

S

uccessful businesses have one thing in common:

Incorporating Learning to Leverage Intelligent

successful customers. This fundamental premise

Customer Success Solutions

drives today's subscription economy leading to

Prithwi mentions, when he grew his business unit, he had

the evolution of the Customer Success industry.

to set up the account management and client services

Pioneering the use of augmented intelligence and

function from the grassroots. On one hand, while it was

constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation,

sales that got the company entry into the accounts, on

SmartKarrot has been at the forefront of this change.

the other hand, it was this team that managed, grew, and

SmartKarrot is an intelligent and actionable customer

retained the business. This gave Prithwi a great vision as

success platform that focuses on enabling predictable

to what it takes to manage net recurring revenue as a

and repeatable business growth. Customer-centric

B2B business. He carried a large part of that learning into

enterprises and businesses across global industries use

building SmartKarrot and its value proposition of being

the company's product to drive successful customer

an intelligent customer success solution.

onboarding, adoption, engagement, retention, and revenue growth at scale.

Intelligent Automation that Helps Solve Problems Prithwi shares that SmartKarrot was launched in the

A Visionary Leader

pandemic year, so he expressed that their operations

Prithwi Dasgupta is the CEO and Co-Founder of

have been entirely virtual from the very first day. And this

SmartKarrot. He is an experienced business leader with

was something the team had to take in as a stride and

more than 22 years of business management experience.

adapt to with some difficulty. Even though the company

Before starting SmartKarrot, Prithwi was the President

is angel-funded, it was a challenge to conduct the fund-

of the technology business unit of a healthcare IT firm,

raising activities virtually where the whole world was

where he was leading a team of over 1500 professionals.

surrounded by the industry's uncertainty. But the company's value proposition of solving complex

36

Prithwi Dasgupta CEO and Co-Founder SmartKarrot

37

‘‘

Emerging artificial intelligence

leaders should stay equally focused on the use case and the technology. To make their solution more business-relevant, they must remain grounded in what AI brings to the table and be

‘‘

wary of its potential misuse.

Prithwi Dasgupta CEO and Co-Founder SmartKarrot w w w. s m a r t k a r r o t . c o m

38

problems using intelligent automation, however, got

SaaS and the subscription-driven recurring revenue

perfectly aligned with the needs of the industry and the

challenge, secondly, multiple systems and data sources

challenges it may face post-pandemic helped the team

lead to big data solutions. And at last, AI helps to sieve

immensely.

out, learn, connect, co-relate, and make the static data sets actionable.

Traits that Every Leader Should Possess Prithwi asserts that the ability to connect accurate

The Future with Enhanced Customer Experiences

technology to solve a genuine industry problem is the

The software-as-a-service industry is estimated to be

first thing that leaders should consider. He adds that they

over US$300 billion and growing at a CAGR of over 25%.

should also possess the skill to simplify and explain

While the growth has been rapid, the focus is now on

complex technical solutions in a manner that is relevant

retaining and growing an existing book of business by

and understandable by both, internal and external

showcasing the value and enhancing customer

stakeholders.

experiences.

Prithwi enunciates that the ability to grow the net

Deploying New-Age Solutions with Innovation

recurring revenue is the single most important aspect of

“Innovation is primarily driven by the broad market and

a SaaS business. “It is a complex problem with multiple

customer needs” believes Prithwi. And talking about how

people, processes and systems involved. The need of the

innovation drives the industry, he says that the legacy

hour is to provide organizations with the right

systems in customer success stop at basic data

intelligence connected to the right actions and

aggregation.” SmartKarrot is taking this to the next level

automation. This is the gap that SmartKarrot fills with its

by w o r k i n g w i t h i n t e l l i g e n c e a n d a u t o m a t i o n

intelligent customer success platform” claims Prithwi.

simultaneously. Modern organizations need new-age predictive and prescriptive solutions, and that is what

An Advice for the Budding Tech Leaders

SmartKarrot provides” he adds.

Prithwi advises the budding tech leaders to stay equally focused on the use cases as they would on the

Disruptive Technologies that Impact Three Simple

technology. “It is also crucial to be wary of the AI Buzz-

Progressions

industry misuse and propagation that AI will solve any

Prithwi verbalizes the three simple progressions of the

problem. Being grounded in what AI brings to the table

impact that he thinks about when it comes to disruptive

will make the latest solutions more business relevant” he

technologies. Firstly, the cloud leads to the growth of

concludes.

39

Piyus Kanti Trailblazing AI Innovations to Enable Digital Transformation

C

loudstrats is a well-known global solutions and

Delivering Exceptional Solutions Post-Pandemic

managed services company based out of New

AI is just one of the few technology developments that

York focused on helping customers innovate

Piyus believes will transform industry and organizations.

their digital transformation journey with advanced

One such example is when the COVID -19 outbreak

technologies such as Automation, Analytics, and

disrupted several businesses, Cloudstrats joined hands

Artificial Intelligence. They enable cloud, optimize

for COVID management by developing NARAD, its

cybersecurity, and implement DevSecOps practices for

COVID-19 data management and analytics solution that

their customers. They also provide enterprise solutions

brought together relevant data which assisted users to

such as SAMAI, Automata, Narad and Infinity to analyze,

interpret them through its intuitive and interactive

mitigate, and remediate technology challenges

visualization tools. It helped to optimize the

efficiently and effectively.

management of COVID-19 patients through digitization, automation of current processes and advanced

A Multi-Faceted Leader

prescriptive and predictive analytics.

Piyus Kanti is a tech entrepreneur, solutions architect, and investor. He is also the founder of Powai Valley

The Three Pillars of Offerings

Ventures, a tech start-up accelerator. He has also led

In an era where agility, security and an integrated

technology and information security management with

approach towards business operations have become

eClerx, a global financial and analytical services

paramount for ease of business and efficiencies,

company. Piyus has been also involved with various

organizations are looking at partners who can offer

international consulting and solution architecture

unmatched cloud-based automated solutions to

assignments with several Fortune 500 companies

enhance business results. They are looking at optimizing

around the globe. In addition to his primary business

their investments and workforce to focus more on their

pursuits, he also loves to help tech and gaming start-ups.

core business areas. Catering to this need, Cloudstrats helps clients automate and streamline business

42

Piyus Kanti Founder Cloudstrats

43

‘‘

Artificial Intelligence is altering the

IT industry and dynamically changing the way companies work.

It is growing crucial for society, economy, and governance. The increasing adoption of AI into intrinsic aspects of life is making business take informed decisions and improve efficiency.

‘‘

Piyus Kanti Founder Cloudstrats

44

w w w. c l o u d s t r a t s . c o m

processes and thus boost their business outcomes with

“The industry and leaders yearn for certainty and with a

watertight security and enhanced visibility of the

lot of development in big data technologies there can still

operations. Discovery of tailored solutions, advisory, and

be a step into the unknown. Removing departmental

managed services are the three pillars of Cloudstrats'

silos is one of the most important tasks that an AI leader

offerings.

must complete before value in one's team can be achieved. Interdepartmental flow is one major mission to

Disruption Tech to Increase Market Traction

be accomplished” remarks Piyus.

Piyus always makes sure that Cloudstrats is on the right track of using disruptive tech. Piyus states “Cloud

Words of Wisdom for the Young Leaders

computing has been witnessing increasing market

In the journey of immersion of AI, Piyus suggests the

traction within major geographies across the globe. In

young leaders to not shift their focus from the criticality

India, the market for cloud-based data services is

of cybersecurity. “In a rapidly changing realm with many

currently in a growing phase due to rising adoption in

entities having advanced computing capabilities, there

large business setups as well as small and medium-sized

needs to be serious thought dedicated to cybersecurity”

enterprises (SMEs) as they continue their digital

believes Piyus.

transformation journey. When it comes to enterprise

He further adds that the core capability will be to make

cloud computing, it is a complete solution for varied

sense out of complex data, better than everyone around.

organizations and companies that enable applications and services to be delivered as a service. All the

A Future Filled with Goals and Possibilities

computing resources can be delivered rapidly to end

Talking about the future, Piyus says “Artificial

users as per their business requirements”. So, keeping all

Intelligence is altering the IT industry and dynamically

this in mind, Piyus says that the main benefit of Cloud is

changing the way companies work. It is growing crucial

that it can be scaled up or down easily, where users can

for society, economy, and governance. The increasing

acquire all those resources that they are looking for and

adoption of AI into intrinsic aspects of life is making

need to pay only for what they are using.

business take informed decisions and improve efficiency at the same time, though, these developments raise

Upholding a Company with Leadership Skills

important policy, regulatory, and ethical issues. It is a

Piyus considers that AI/Big Data/Machine Learning to be

journey to leverage the technology and safeguard from

the areas of work in which there are so many mysteries

any potential risk”.

about real-world results, where there is so much to

As initial adopters with developed expertise, Cloudstrats

ingest and discover, that one needs a certain level of

is excited about the possibilities. Piyus asserts that

'courage to be involved period-- to invest one's time and

customers can now leverage technology to increase

money in it. For many companies, given the younger

productivity and be ready for the future and the

workforce and new learning, there is still a lack of a

company will be partnering with them at every step of

record of accomplishment, and Piyus believes that this is

the journey.

one of the biggest challenges.

45

What will the Year 2021 do with

AI Influencers through Advanced Technologies?

T

he year 2021 is important because even with the

time left one can expect greater presence and

visibility of digital influencers not just coming up

but 'competing' with their human counterparts in brand promotion through advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence. Just like, social media influencers,

46

beauty influencers, influencers who are involved with

brand promotion activities. Also, human influencers can

the promotion of AI products and services are known as

shift loyalty when needed and there is no means to bind

AI influencers in 2021.

them forever to a particular brand. Not the least, the digital influencers or AI influencers are much less costly

With the cutting-edge competition in brand promotion

than their human counterparts. This cost-effective

activities, the influencers, in general, are gaining

dimension is also an important factor leading to their

increasing attention in the artificial intelligence (AI)

increasing visibility.

ecosystem. Before citing the factors responsible for this development, let it be conveyed that the influencers are

This does not of course mean that the current year

so called because of the ability to influence potential

announces that the days of human influencers are

buyers of products and/or services by promoting the

coming to an end. A stellar line-up of human influencers,

items on social media. But there is a lot of fluidity about

according to one list, includes names like Ande Fitz, the

who the influencers are and how they act. There is, in

Co-Founder and CIO of Swiss Cognitive, Maria Luciana

other words, no unanimously accepted criterion/criteria

Axente of PWC-UK, Nazarine Ibrahim, Founder and CEO

of 'influencer' and it very much remains an evolving

of Naz Consulting, Sailendra Kuman, the data science

concept and process. The degree to which such fluidity

business entrepreneur, Ganapati Pulipaka, the Chief AI

can go has already become evident in the emergence of

HPC Scientist at Accenture. Katie King, CEO of AI in

advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and

Business and also a member of the UK Government All-

one of the most prominent influencers, Yumi. She is the

Party Parliamentary Task Force for the enterprise

world's first automated digital skincare advisor. One can,

adoption of AI. This is not the only list and they are not

as she assures the public, can chat with her anytime any

obviously the only ones around. The value addition

place like a chatbot. Totally dedicated to the brand she

provided by human influencers lies in their extraordinary

promotes Yumi is as human as a human being. Obviously,

ability to steer conversations to the desired end

when it comes to the influencers in the AI domain there

identified and preferred by the brands. Meanwhile, AI

are human elements too.

influencers are thriving in the global tech market such as Lil Miquela with a full name, Miquela Sousa. She is

Why this expectation? There are some major factors

hundred per cent fully programmed with artificial

involved in this. There are several advantages with the

intelligence and has around 1.5 million followers on

digital influencers or AI influencers. First, they not only

Instagram whereas there is a 22-year old Korean AI

look but also act like human beings. With the AI as the

influencer, Rozy, Lil Wavi, Ronnie Blawko, and many

guiding force it is very difficult to distinguish between a

more.

human being and the digital avatar. Second, the digital influencer speaks what is being tutored by the mentors.

When influencers are expected to drive value and

There is no departure from the taught messages. Third,

success for tech/beauty and other products and services,

their brand loyalty is inviolable as they are thoroughly

both the digital or AI influencers and human types will be

controlled. The last two issues are not so tight with

utilized. Who will utilize which category will depend on

human influencers. A human influencer can speak

the specific needs in some specific situations? This year

something else than what has been advised by the

has already made the point clear and it will continue to be

mentors. It may also lead to some controversies or

so for the months left.

debates in the society, not necessarily conducive to the

47

Srikanth Markonda A Passionate AI Researcher Driving Innovation in the Industry with Disruptive Tech

S

rikanth Markonda is the Founder and CEO of

unlimited scalability in considerable less time than it

Lorgan Pty Ltd, an innovative Australia-based

would take most organizations to even deliver a proof of

artificial intelligence and IoT organization.

concept.

Srikanth has a global experience of working in India, USA, Europe, and is currently based out of Australia. He holds

Experiences that Helped the Journey Successful

a master's in technology from IIT and also a certification

“To have the power of data at your fingertips is one thing.

from MIT in artificial intelligence. Srikanth has extensive

However, knowing how it should be used is not always

prior technology executive experience which over the

straightforward” says Srikanth. He has experienced the

years he gained by working with iconic organizations like

fact that most companies are unable to wrap their heads

Emagine, Infosys, Verizon, Wipro, and TCS.

around how data can help them develop a sustainable

“Everyone knew that data is a very powerful tool to

competitive advantage. To achieve this, Srikanth

understand and predict the behaviour of an individual or

identified a strong need for an innovative solution, and

an entity, however, data stored or streamed on servers

combined with a different kind of technology, he knew it

may not solely represent 100% of an individual's

wouldn't be easy and would take a different kind of

behaviour. Think of a tool that can integrate the

company to build it.

parasympathetic behaviour of an individual and their

“It is for this reason why Lorgan was founded and built its

associated transactional data to analyse the 360 degrees

unique Enigma platform. To our knowledge, there is no

of behavioural patterns. This is exactly what the core of

single behavioural science-driven solution that is

Lorgan's ground-breaking Enigma platform is all about”,

industry agnostic, use case agnostic, low-code, and

said Srikanth.

configurable for onboarding any AI and/or IoT use case

Srikanth has started a revolution by architecting the

within a fraction of time and cost needed to invest and

product named “Enigma”, intending to deliver Artificial

develop a complete AI / IoT solution.”

Intelligence and IoT projects with utmost accuracy and

48

Srikanth Markonda Founder and CEO Lorgan Pty Ltd

49

‘‘

One cannot predict certain futuristic

behavioural patterns just by using existing data sitting in Big Data Lakes. It is why we created our Enigma platform as a fusion of an individual's behaviour generated by analysing the data and the behaviour elicited by analysing the parasympathetic behaviour (or emotions) of the individual.

‘‘

Srikanth Markonda Founder and CEO Lorgan Pty Ltd

50

w w w. l o r g a n g l o b a l . c o m

Sadiq Maniyar

Dr. Abhishek Singh

Head of Engineering

Head of Business Value Management

A Team that Focuses on Execution with Excellence

and science mindset with an unwavering focus on

“The primal challenge, as the Founder of Lorgan, was

execution with excellence.

assembling a passionate team with a strong personal vision and specialist skillset in the areas of strategy,

Disruption Tech and Leadership that Change Dynamics

innovation, and execution capabilities covering both

As an artificial intelligence aficionado, Srikanth believes

business and technology,” said Srikanth. In addition to

that one should always keep an eye on innovative ways of

this, another most important factor he considered while

finding solutions to most problems faced in the industry.

selecting his team was strong fitment to the company's

For this reason, it is crucial to keep identifying the

culture.

problems AI can easily solve and see how products and

This is why Srikanth onboarded specialist technologist,

solutions can be implemented for the same. “Artificial

Sadiq Maniyar as Lorgan's Head of Engineering, and

intelligence encompasses machine learning, natural

value management specialist Dr Abhishek Singh as Head

language processing, and robotics. Leaders will need to

of Business Value Management.

understand and have conversations to make conformed

Both Sadiq Maniyar and Dr Abhishek Singh lead their

decisions about the technology choices they make. The

functions with their teams that combine real-world

ability to understand what technology can offer an

expertise in big data processing, fast data processing,

organization is crucial, and leaders must continuously

data science with a dynamic end-user interface that is

embrace new tools and technologies” he further adds.

embedded with rich exploratory self-service data

According to Srikanth, leaders and AI scientists must

analysis capabilities. Whatever their role, each

work together to identify and mitigate the issues

Lorganian combines an uncompromising engineering

a s s o c i a t e d w i t h “e t h i c a l A I ” a n d w o r k o n i t s

51

implementation eliminating bias surrounding this

and start thinking about adjacent worlds of execution

technology and preventing souring outcomes before an

models to simplify their day-to-day business. E.g., one of

enterprise-level adoption. The first step in this direction

its clients using Lorgan's platform in the energy and

entails a move towards implementing a robust ethical AI

utilities industry sees an exorbitant value by onboarding

framework while training and validating the machine

the platform for a fraction of the cost when compared to

learning algorithms. If leaders are not enforcing these

their return on investment. Lorgan's other clients in the

best practices, organizations will suffer from poorly

Telecommunications, Financial Services, Retail, and

implemented algorithms.

Healthcare sector have implemented their solution using the Enigma platform within a few weeks after

Building the Courage to Face Uncertainties

deciding to start the project. Customers say, “the beauty

In his experience, Srikanth has met with many global

of the Enigma platform lies in its ease of onboarding,

executives and his common observation was that each

personalized, and time-sensitive machine learning based

one of them tried coming out of their legacy way of

decisioning”.

running their businesses.

“Artificial intelligence is one of the key areas of focus for

The Human-Machine Combo to Leverage Success

the leadership team in various dimensions that include a)

AI technologies are extremely useful to optimize

increasing revenues, b) reducing risks, c) mitigating

operational costs, increase efficiencies, grow revenues,

fraud, d) preventing potential machinery failures, and e)

improve customer experience, detect anomalies,

understanding the end customer's behaviour” says

prevent machinery failures, etc., however, in Srikanth's

Srikanth.

experience, AI does not deliver the best results on its

“Lorgan firmly believes that developments around big

own. He stresses that one will always achieve the best

data in recent years are only the tip of the iceberg.

results only when humans and machines work together.

Leaders must therefore have the courage to face the

“Artificial intelligence has seen rapid adoption by

uncertainties, be ready to fail, and learn, and be ready to

businesses in the last few years and is no longer a

make a shift change when a situation demands a new

concept. The extent of use of AI is continuously

strategy” he claims.

expanding, and it's changing the way almost every business is operating” remarks Srikanth.

Understanding Articulated and Unarticulated Needs Srikanth strongly believes in innovation that involves a

Words of Wisdom to the Emerging Leaders

deep level of understanding of both the articulated

Srikanth's advice to the emerging leaders in the AI space

(explicitly stated) and unarticulated needs of existing and

is to set an ambitious vision, strategy, and achievable

potential consumers/customers.

goals, and make sure you understand and evaluate how

Enigma platform is created by carefully considering

the business world will respond to your evolving thought

these facts in mind. Lorgan's targeted organizations are

process and try to be disruptive wherever possible.

those who are looking outside their historical business

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