Jordan Robinson

I would agree that IoT is not a disruptive innovation. I think it would be hard to call IoT an individual thing, it is more of a concept that manufacturers across industries have adapted to unit their use of the internet, and sell more of their IoT products. The “things” within the IoT is simply individual items that progressed along their normal paths of evolution. The application and marketing of these tools is where things start to change. However, that change occurred about 15 years ago. Now it is part of the expected product offering for most products.

One thing you said maybe one of the most important aspects of big data, “visualization is key.” There are people out there that can look at a data set and “see” the connections. I am not one of them. Having a system that can pull the data and present it in a way that is easily understood. At this point decision makers can actually make decisions on the data, not spending all their time trying to interpret it.

You bring up some interesting ideas about the current wine industry. It almost sounds like it is consolidating and fragmenting at the same time. The big companies are buying out the other big companies and consolidating their position. Meanwhile, the smaller firms are fragmenting the micro environments. I am not a big wine drinker, but I do enjoy beer. I feel the wine industry is about where the beer industry was 15 years ago. At that time the American beer industry had lots of smaller local breweries. While the big companies where owned by 2-3 massive international companies. Since that time, the massive companies have started buying up the smaller ones. This has offered the smaller ones money for their start up and increased distribution they never would have had otherwise.

Another selling point to the Government of Borneo is a security argument. A lot of times these types of illegal operations are used to fund local terrorism. If something like this can be used to limit illegal operations. This would directly decrees the money terrorist groups throughout the region have to conduct attacks. That is what makes this a good solution. It would provide many different benefits to bring in more stakeholders to help champion it.

I honestly didn’t know too much about palm oil production until reading this and taking a look at a few of the sources you used. I think the Indonesian government would be silly to not want to use this satellite image technology to monitor what is happening. If they don’t, money is going to be continuously at loss. If this works out, just like they are using it in Brazil and Sumatra, other countries could start using this technology as well! It could benefit even more.

I believe that brands really need to be transparent with their consumers, potential customers, and even other stakeholders if they want to truly be successful and keep a positive reputation. Supply chain transparency has been becoming very important over the years. It is also helpful for the internal company as well because if they know all of the details in their supply chain processes, they will be able to improve their operations. They can cut costs and create better efficiency. iThe article below gives some more insight about the transparency levels and how companies should go about it and how to define it.

https://hbr.org/2019/08/what-supply-chain-transparency-really-means

Sean – great point about security! This would definitely help the area.

As a former resident of the dirty streets oh Philly. I love this idea!! Love a good clean home and after all, the planet is our biggest home.
https://media.giphy.com/media/8hYuv7oNtCGfOALRU8/giphy.gif

I think this is a great idea. I know I have apps that I play for no real world reward. Just getting little icons on my profile is enough to keep me playing. If I got rewarded for every time I picked up trash, I am sure I would do it a lot more. I think if you turn this into a tax right off for companies you could get even more to buy in. Maybe let users select from a pool of companies they want discounts at.

These are some great ways that AI can be used to help address climate change. I read that the first month of the COVID lock down was the cleanest the sky had been in decades across the world. I do not know the numbers, but it could have added up to a year on the timeline. I also wonder if AI can be used to find sites that violate climate laws. If it can trace pollutants back to a factory then it would be easier to hold companies accountable.

Thanks for sharing Maddie! Really interesting AI concepts to learn about here in regards to climate change. I didn’t think about how the pandemic has helped our world in some way until you mentioned the lack of commuters commuting to work. My dad drives in and out of Jersey City with traffic taking about 2 hours each way. Since the pandemic, he’s been working from home. Not only was joining him on that commute exhausting when I was working in NYC, but the amount of cars on the Garden State in the mornings…
AI has certainly been a great help in the combat of preserving and saving our environment. I know in California there’s a mandate that by 2035, all cars and trucks sold in California will be zero-emission vehicles. Hopefully many other populous/metropolitan areas will follow so we can get the ball moving.

Maddie,

Thanks for sharing. It is quite interesting to thin about how AI can impact all aspects of our lives. The future of technology and AI in general seems to almost have no limits! Although there is still a lot of work to do in order to preserve our environments, it is great to see initiative and individuals that are working to build awareness and take action.

Claire

Maddie, this is a great piece you wrote. I think I am the only person in the U.S. that didn’t know about the world clock in Manhattan. That is beyond cool and scary at the same time. Climate change has always been a huge effect on the earth that everyone just wants to ignore but it’s a real problem. This pandemic has actually showed how much we can save energy by staying at home. With the help of AI soon you will be able to put on a pair of glasses and be in the classroom without actually being there. Not only is this great for the environment but it also creates real world scenarios for people may not like to work from home. I think Elon Musk has done a great job over the past few years focusing on climate change and bringing more awareness to it. He has such a good standpoint on the role and has great plans to integrate AI with climate change.

Thanks so much for sharing, Kathryn. I recently came to learn of all the therapy options that are available in the 21st century. Naturally, during the global pandemic, traditional therapist also have transitioned to virtual e-therapy services. That said, the concern for data privacy is valid. If someone feels like they’re just another number or consumer to target for therapy services, the journey for help or even sessions may not feel as genuine and more of a money grab. On the other side, I can also see how using the data can simply help a company get in front of the people who need it. While I’m aware of the updated therapy options, there are so many people who don’t know how to find these resources. Using data to market them may be the best options until it. becomes mainstream and normalized in the future.

Kathryn I loved your post! I am also someone who is an advocate of therapy having been through it myself and saw how it had a positive effect on my life. Even though I go to a practice, I have often recommended both Betterhelp and Talkspace to friends who were looking for a way to try it out without having to get insurance involved. The point you made about these companies using the data to improve the program and/or better market to individuals was something I never thought of before. It does make me feel wary about how much information these companies have and I agree that we should be sure of which avenue would be best to receive help. I will definitely be doing more research on these e-therapy apps.

Thank you for sharing. I also feel people who need help should be able to get it 24/7. When it comes to the question of privacy, I do not see why these apps should not have to meet the same requirements as the therapists themselves. I do not know the industry, but I think any data serve that holds personal medical information has to meet HIPPA standards. Forcing the apps to do the same will most likely drive the price up. However, I think it will create a better and safer product. Therapy is build on trust, and if the people using the app do not trust it to keep their secrets, then they will stop using it.

This is a great post Kathryn! I really love the way you speak about therapy and mental health. Speaking of these companies, even though I do not like their way of attracting and targeting customers, I understand why they would use these methods. At the end of the day, they are a company that needs money in order help people. In today’s environment, companies need to adapt to digital marketing to stay afloat. It can be considered unethical by some, but others can argue it is not since companies are not actually releasing actual information on its users. I think as the topics of mental health and therapy grows, this might become a controversial issue.

I am with you Kathryn, I am a huge advocate for therapy. It has gotten me through so many obstacles in life. I tried an online chat therapy before and wasn’t the biggest fan of it. It didn’t feel as genuine as sitting in a room with someone and talking person to person. I understand the pulling of data to obtain and help customers but that does not mean it is right. This made me lose a little hope in the online therapy platforms such as Talkspace. These companies should be using their main point of being their for you 24/7 as a target point as this feature is very attractive. Maybe the people running this need to take mental health a little more serious and think about the person going to them for help.

I never thought about the impact on snow days. This pandemic could be the worst thing to happen to one of the most magical days as a child. I think there will be a big push for improved technology across all industries after COVID, but your research makes me realize that the medical field may see the biggest change. While hospitals have been working to improve technology usage, the average doctor’s office has not changed much in the past 20 years. This could be the push they need to start modernizing their systems.

Sean – Agreed! Snow days were the best. I can’t imagine having to do my schoolwork online when I could be outside sledding in the backyard or at the park.

I took in an interest in your post Maddie because I am a full time patient basically. I have used the telehealth method a few times during the pandemic and it was helpful because I was definitely scared and hesitant with going into the offices. It also saved me time and money because I didn’t have to travel nor spend time waiting for the actual professional to speak with us which usually takes FOREVER. I believe that telehealth services will tremendously advance the healthcare industry post covid. It makes the operations easier for Doctors as well because not every patient has to be there. I did not think about the cybersecurity aspect though and I think that is very important! Patient’s data is very private and important. It should be secure and there needs to be protection put in place for this. While I know going in to the doctor’s office is still so critical for me and other patients, I do agree that these telehealth medical services will further the digitization of the healthcare/medical sector and make it easier for all parties involved.

Even before COVID, health care industries were competing to differentiate themselves from each other such as having a dermatologist or specialist on call. Seeing how COVID pretty much synced everyone into a virtual aspect, it’ll be interesting to see the rapid growth in technology in this industry. Offices will cut down on their rent space from seeing that multiple employees can work virtually and main professionally. Telehealth for a senior citizen would also be one of my concerns with them not being tech-savvy. Doctors or pharmacists would have to use a portal to generate a daily call list to see how patients adhere to medications.

It is really interesting how COVID-19 has affected the health care industry. There are obviously some things you need to go into the doctors office for, but improvements to telehealth services do seem like the safest way for providers to interact with highly contagious patients (whose symptoms are not life threatening of course). If you have mild symptoms of COVID, the likely only health care worker you interact with these days in person is whoever is giving you your test (and even then they are dressed head to toe in PPE). I wonder how this is going to change the way doctors appointments will go in the future. I don’t know how often sicknesses spread from patients normally, but I feel like it would be a lot safer for doctors and nurses overall if those who are sick only interact with them in person when necessary.

I do think you are right when you mention that there are problems we will have to overcome with tele-health. For one, a lot of people in low-income neighborhoods don’t have the same level of access to the Internet and technology as people with more money and resources. The second problem is definitely cybersecurity – health care information is highly sensitive and needs to be protected. However, overall I do think the benefits outweigh the challenges and we will be moving to a future where telehealth is the norm.

Great post Maddie. It’s so true, the pandemic has shaped so much more than we think. At first glance, students were impacted by having to adapt to online classes. As you said, it goes beyond that. It’s proven that people can be productive at home. Presently, will teachers expect students to complete homework on snow days and other days off? Will classes scheduled for weekends? When it come to working, will employers expect their employees to work at home when they are sick or on vacation. Technology makes this feasible. Another point you brought to light was about health care. It’s great that people can get treated without having to go into the office and further risk infecting others. As this is a positive, I also feel a doctor will be more likely to miss something because they cannot touch or physically see their patients.

Interesting, Erin! Thanks so much for this perspective.

While I’m not a huge proponent and advocate of video games [I say this while my fiancé is downstairs playing Madden (sp?)], I find the ‘training’ aspect of this application/utility of AI to be interesting. My brain actually almost immediately went to analogue sports (ie, volleyball, golf, baseball, etc), and how can AI record you pitching a baseball or swinging a golf club, and give you feedback. I personally find that to be more useful, but that’s definitely because I have a tiny chip on my shoulder with video games (and staying indoors for too long in general) 🙂

I knew esports have blown up recently, but I did not know they had AI coaches. It sounds like the current AI forces on the player and improving their performance. I think the next step would be an AI that analyzes a competitor’s performance. After a match the AI would give you information on your opponent’s playing style (he kneels just before shooting or jumps after first contact). As long as the AI is not altering the game play itself, just giving feedback, I do not see this a cheating. The amount of skill it would take to review, process, and utilize that data to change mid game would be truly impressive. It reminds me of the age-old argument about if screen watching on split screen was cheating. It is not, but that is a debate for another day.

Wow. What a cool read about eSports and AI technology! Had no idea professional players had access to a software that can help them with their gameplay. My boyfriend is super into PC gaming, so I’ve been learning here and there about the gaming community from him. It’s crazy how big these tournaments have gotten these past few years…
I don’t see AimLab being a cheating tool, but rather a training tool. But I do agree Erin – if all sponsors invested into the software for equal access across the board, it would definitely be fair game for these tournaments!