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| The builder, the salesman and the property tycoon | James | post | 2016-11-12T11:43:24+00:00 | /2016/11/12/the-builder-the-salesman-and-the-property-tycoon/ |
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A testament to marketers around the world is the myth that their AI platform X, Y or Z can solve all your problems with no effort. Perhaps it is this, combined with developers and data scientists often being hidden out of sight and out of mind that leads people to think this way.
Unfortunately, the truth of the matter is that ML and AI involve blood sweat and tears – especially if you are building things from scratch rather than using APIs. If you are using third party APIs there are still challenges. The biggest players in the API space also have large pools of money. Pools of money that can be spent on marketing literature to convince you that their product will solve all your problems with no effort required. I think this is dishonest and is one of the reasons I have so many conversations like the one below.
The take home message is clear! We need to do way more to help clients to understand AI tech and what it can do in a more transparent way. Simply getting customers excited about buzzwords without explaining things in layman’s terms is a guaranteed way to lose trust and build a bad reputation.
At Filament, we pride ourselves on being honest and transparent about what AI can do for your business and are happy to take the time to explain concepts and buzzwords in laymans’ terms.
The following is an amusing anecdote about what happens when AI experts get their messaging wrong.
The builder, the salesman and the property tycoon
Imagine that a property tycoon is visiting an experienced builder for advice on construction of a new house. This is a hugely exaggerated example and all of the people in it are caricatures. No likeness or similarity intended. Our ‘master builders’ are patient, understanding and communicative and thankfully, have never met a ‘Mr Tycoon’ in real life.
Salesman(SM): Welcome Mr Tycoon, please allow me to introduce to you our master builder. She has over 25 years in the construction industry and qualifications in bricklaying, plumbing and electrics. Master Builder (MB): Hi Mr Tycoon, great to meet you *handshake* Tycoon(TC): Lovely to meet you both. I'm here today because I want some advice on my latest building project. I've been buying blocks of apartments and letting them out for years. My portfolio is worth £125 Million. However, I want to get into the construction game. MB: That's exciting. So how can we help? TC: Ok I'm a direct kind of guy and I say things how I see them so I'll cut to the chase. I want to build a house. What tools shall I use? MB: Good question... what kind of house are you looking to build? TC: Well, whatever house I can build with tools. MB: ok... well you know there are a lot of options and it depends on budget. I mean you must have something in mind? Bungalow? 2-Story family house? Manor house? TC: Look, I don't see how this is relevant. I've been told that the tools can figure all this stuff out for me. SM: Yes MB, we can provide tools that will help TC decide what house to build right? MB: That's not really how it works but ok... Let's say for the sake of argument that we're going to help you build a 2 bedroom townhouse. TC: Fantastic! Yes, great initiative MB, a townhouse. Will tools help me build a townhouse? MB: Yeah... tools will help you build a townhouse... TC: That's great! MB: TC, do you have any experience building houses? You said you mainly buy houses, not build them. T: No not really. However, SM told me that with the right tools, I don't need any experience, the tools will do all the work for me. MB: Right... ok... SM did you say that? SM: Well, with recent advances in building techniques and our latest generation of tools, anything is possible! MB: Yes... that's true tools do make things easier. However, you really do need to know how to use the tools. They're not 'magic' - you should understand which ones are useful in different situations TC: Oh, that's not the kind of answer I was looking for. SM, you said this wouldn't be a problem. SM: It's not going to be a problem is it MB? I mean we can help TC figure out which tools to use? MB: I suppose so... SM: That's the attitude MB... Tell TC about our services MB: Sure, I have had many years of experience building townhouses, we have a great architect at our firm who can design the house for you. My team will take care of the damp coursing, wooden frame, brickwork and plastering and then I will personally oversee the installation of the electrics and pipework. TC: Let's not get bogged down in the detail here MB, I just want a townhouse... Now I have a question. Have you heard of mechanical excavators - I think you brits call them "diggers". MB: Yes... I have used diggers a number of times in the past. TC: Oh that's great. MB, do you think diggers can help me build a house faster? MB: Urm, well maybe. It depends on the state of the terrain that you want to build on. TC: Oh that's great, some of our potential tenants have heard of diggers and if I tell them we used diggers to build the house they will be so excited. MB: Wonderful... TC: I've put an order in for 25 diggers - if we have more that means we can build the house faster right? MB: Are you serious? SM: Of course TC is serious, that's how it works right? MB: Not exactly but ok, if you have already ordered them that's fine *tries to figure out what to do with 24 spare diggers* TC: Great, it's settled then. One more thing, I don't know if I want to do a townhouse. Can you use diggers to build townhouses? I'm only interested in building things that diggers can build. MB: Yes don't worry, you can build townhouses with diggers. I've done it personally a number of times TC: I'm not so sure. I've heard of this new type of house called a Ford Mustang. Everyone in the industry is talking about how we can drive up ROI by building Ford Mustangs instead of Townhouses. What are your thoughts MB? MB: That's not a... diggers... I... I'm really sorry TC, I've just received an urgent text message from one of our foremen at a building site, I have to go and resolve this. Thanks for your time, SM can you wrap up here? *calmly leaves room and breathes into a paper bag* SM: Sorry about that TC, anyway yes I really love the Ford mustang idea, what's your budget? -FIN-
This post is supposed to raise a chuckle and it’s not supposed to offend anyone in particular. However, on a more serious note, there is definitely a problem with buzzwords in machine learning and industry. Let’s try and fix it.