The Intersection Of AI, Design & Leadership

Building better companies and societies requires cross-disciplinary skills and leadership. In my writing, I discuss the importance of diversity and inclusion in the AI industry, research and engineering applications of recent machine learning breakthroughs, and principles of effective design leadership and technical communication.

Diversity In The AI Industry

Responsible AI: Should Smart Machines Be Intrinsically Pro Human?

Responsible AI: Should Smart Machines Be Intrinsically Pro Human?

Bigoted AI systems rightly deserve the universal flak they get. But there’s a problem: we might still be screwed even if AI is neutral. Unless artificial intelligence has the "right" biases, AI and people won’t coexist very well. Unless purposely wired to be ethical...

Collaborative Design Is Critical For Safe AI

Collaborative Design Is Critical For Safe AI

The trope “there’s an app for that” is quickly becoming “there’s an AI for that.” Want to assess the narrative quality of a story? Disney’s got an AI for that. Got a shortage of doctors but still need to treat patients? IBM Watson prescribes the same treatment plan as...

Fighting Algorithmic Bias & Homogenous Thinking in AI

Fighting Algorithmic Bias & Homogenous Thinking in AI

When Timnit Gebru attended a prestigious AI research conference last year, she counted 6 black people in the audience out of an estimated 8,500. And only one black woman: herself. As a PhD candidate at Stanford University who has published a number of notable papers...

Why We Need To Democratize Global AI Education

Why We Need To Democratize Global AI Education

When Sahil Singla joined the social impact startup Farmguide, he was shocked to discover that thousands of rural farmers in India commit suicide every year. When harvests go awry, desperate farmers are forced to borrow from microfinance loan sharks at crippling rates....

Artificial Intelligence

Responsible AI: Should Smart Machines Be Intrinsically Pro Human?

Responsible AI: Should Smart Machines Be Intrinsically Pro Human?

Bigoted AI systems rightly deserve the universal flak they get. But there’s a problem: we might still be screwed even if AI is neutral. Unless artificial intelligence has the "right" biases, AI and people won’t coexist very well. Unless purposely wired to be ethical...

6 Ways AI Transforms How We Develop Software

6 Ways AI Transforms How We Develop Software

AI is transforming all business functions, and software development is no exception. Not only can machine learning techniques be used to accelerate the traditional software development lifecycle (SDLC), they present a completely new paradigm for inventing technology. ...

14 Ways Machine Learning Can Boost Your Marketing

14 Ways Machine Learning Can Boost Your Marketing

Marketing success depends on many factors. You need accurate consumer research to build your branding strategy, engaging content to delight your audience, a firm grasp of behavioral economics, and a near mystical ability to intuit how people will weigh your message...

Common Mistakes Executives Make With Data

Common Mistakes Executives Make With Data

Data is a human invention. Humans define the phenomenon that they want to measure, design systems to collect data about it, clean and pre-process it before analysis, and finally choose how to interpret the results. Even with the same dataset, two people can form...

Beyond Backpropagation: What’s After Deep Learning?

Beyond Backpropagation: What’s After Deep Learning?

Deep learning almost single-handedly made "AI" a buzzword in research labs, corporate board meetings, the stock market, and the homes of digital consumers. A branch of machine learning that uses artificial neural network structures to enable computers to learn from...

Neural Network Generates Fake Startups. Hilarity Ensues.

Neural Network Generates Fake Startups. Hilarity Ensues.

Top-tier branding agencies can run you $50,000 or more for a project. For bootstrapped entrepreneurs looking for a new name, tagline, and logo for your startups, this pricing can seem nuts. Naming is also a rather contentious affair, requiring you to balance...

Chihuahua vs. Muffin: Comparing Computer Vision APIs

Chihuahua vs. Muffin: Comparing Computer Vision APIs

You've probably seen this internet meme demonstrating the alarming resemblance of chihuahuas and muffins. Everyone in the AI industry (including myself) loves putting the image in their presentations. But, one question I haven't seen anyone answer rigorously is: just...

4 Approaches To Natural Language Processing

4 Approaches To Natural Language Processing

In 1971, Terry Winograd wrote the SHRDLU program while completing his PhD at MIT. SHRDLU features a world of toy blocks where the computer translates human commands into physical actions, such as “move the red pyramid next to the blue cube.” To succeed in such tasks,...

5 Ways Deep Learning Enhances User Experience

5 Ways Deep Learning Enhances User Experience

Planning to Netflix & Chill this weekend? The movie you choose to watch may be heavily influenced by Netflix’s sophisticated algorithms. Similarly, decisions like where you choose to dine and what you choose to wear are increasingly facilitated by predictive...

UX & UI Design

Responsible AI: Should Smart Machines Be Intrinsically Pro Human?

Responsible AI: Should Smart Machines Be Intrinsically Pro Human?

Bigoted AI systems rightly deserve the universal flak they get. But there’s a problem: we might still be screwed even if AI is neutral. Unless artificial intelligence has the "right" biases, AI and people won’t coexist very well. Unless purposely wired to be ethical...

Collaborative Design Is Critical For Safe AI

Collaborative Design Is Critical For Safe AI

The trope “there’s an app for that” is quickly becoming “there’s an AI for that.” Want to assess the narrative quality of a story? Disney’s got an AI for that. Got a shortage of doctors but still need to treat patients? IBM Watson prescribes the same treatment plan as...

5 Ways Deep Learning Enhances User Experience

5 Ways Deep Learning Enhances User Experience

Planning to Netflix & Chill this weekend? The movie you choose to watch may be heavily influenced by Netflix’s sophisticated algorithms. Similarly, decisions like where you choose to dine and what you choose to wear are increasingly facilitated by predictive...

6 Common Mistakes Designers Make With Product Managers

6 Common Mistakes Designers Make With Product Managers

Product management and product design have a significant amount of functional overlap. Both roles require a deep connection and understanding of the target user and the ability to ideate and champion product visions. In high functioning teams, the common goals and...

3 Different Models Of Pair Design

3 Different Models Of Pair Design

Pair programming is an agile software development technique in which two programmers work together at one workstation. One, the driver, writes code while the other, the navigator, reviews each line. The roles switch frequently as the pair takes turns focusing on the...

Centralized vs. Integrated Design Teams At Fitbit

Centralized vs. Integrated Design Teams At Fitbit

Maintaining a design-oriented culture and practice is a challenge for all companies, even those started by designer founders who actively fight to preserve a strong design ethos as their companies grow. Executive choices such as design team structure,...

How Square Scaled Early Design Culture

How Square Scaled Early Design Culture

“We were craftsmen and our tools were code. Design was not something we thought we should do, we just did it” — Tristan O’Tierney, Co-Founder of Square Square is a mobile payments company best known for the iconic Square Card Reader, a beautiful white mobile credit...

Translating Values Into Culture: Lessons From IDEO

Translating Values Into Culture: Lessons From IDEO

When a new employee joins the design firm IDEO, they are handed a copy of The Little Book of IDEO. This little red tome walks through the firm’s founding story, organizational values, and best practices for being successful both individually and collectively at the...

Marketing & Communications

Selling AI? Here’s How To Stand Out From The Noisy Marketing Hype

Selling AI? Here’s How To Stand Out From The Noisy Marketing Hype

Hoping to appear relevant, businesses love to invoke AI in their marketing every chance they get — but not everyone is impressed. When the hype gets out of control, facts get lost in the haze and the real promise of artificial intelligence regresses into a sci-fi...

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