Information Ninja

05/17/2019

Are you a liberal arts or non-STEM graduate? And you need some ideas on how to get a job in the artificial intelligence field?

Welcome to the first #AICareerChat recap (it was done on Thursday, May 16, 2019).

My guest? @lizjosullivan.

The topic? How can liberal arts or non-STEM majors get a job in artificial intelligence.

P.S. The reason why I created the #AICareerChat Twitter chat? Because there was a lack of information on how liberal arts and non-STEM majors could get a job in the artificial intelligence field. As you’ll see from @lizjosullivan, it’s not about the computer programmers and researchers. It’s about you. The:

A) career changer
B) liberal arts graduate and
C) the non-STEM major

To be honest, you’re the ones that make the world go round. With your creativity and imagination.

Also, take up @lizjosullivan offer – ask her on Twitter if you have any questions (it’s rare that a guest will offer this request. Take full advantage of it. P.P.S. This is better than using LinkedIn when it comes to talking to the experts).

You can blame me for the mistakes.

—————

Here’s Q1 for @lizjosullivan:

how did your academic background help you get your start in #AI? #AICareerChat

— Nick Tang (@nickhtang) May 16, 2019

A1. In college, I studied Philosophy and Science, although admittedly, when I got to Organic Chemistry, that was just about the end of my scientific career, haha. I wanted to study something technical… (1/n)

— Liz O'Sullivan 👾 (@lizjosullivan) May 16, 2019

but I was no good at 3D thinking, a must-have for understanding the complex shapes of molecules. Philosophy turned out to be the perfect background for me, for a lot of reasons. (2/n)

— Liz O'Sullivan 👾 (@lizjosullivan) May 16, 2019

It teaches you how to argue proofs with symbolic logic, which turns out to be very useful, since it’s boolean logic, used all the time in code. If you can make your way through a difficult conversation on the nature of free will with a sound logical argument… (3/n)

— Liz O'Sullivan 👾 (@lizjosullivan) May 16, 2019

Philosophy also taught me how to express very complex ideas as simply, and concisely as possible. This translated into the right skill set for teaching these concepts to staff and clientele, which is how I got my start in tech- through Account Management (Customer Success). (5/n)

— Liz O'Sullivan 👾 (@lizjosullivan) May 16, 2019

In college, I had also spent some time in the service industry to make ends meet, where I learned how to sell, and that background was enough to get an entry level job at a startup. For anyone looking to grow skills early in their career… I can’t recommend startups enough. (fin)

— Liz O'Sullivan 👾 (@lizjosullivan) May 16, 2019

How important are #softskills when it comes to getting an #AI career? #AICareerChat

— Nick Tang (@nickhtang) May 16, 2019

AI is surprisingly intuitive and subjective, so understanding how to communicate complex ideas to engineers and clients is insanely valuable. Often, the people who write the code aren't as good at communicating what it means, which leaves a lot of room for humanities… (1/2)

— Liz O'Sullivan 👾 (@lizjosullivan) May 16, 2019

…scholars to help. But more than that, there is a huge push for social science, human rights, and artistic contributions to this field to keep its impact grounded in social good. "Can we build it?" must be paired with "Should we?", and non-tech folk are needed for that. (2/2)

— Liz O'Sullivan 👾 (@lizjosullivan) May 16, 2019

Here’s Q2 for @lizjosullivan:

do you have any other advice for non-STEM/high school/career changers? #AICareerChat

— Nick Tang (@nickhtang) May 16, 2019

A2. Absolutely! My advice to non-technical folks is exactly that — Startups! Startups often have to compete with major tech firms for talent, and as such are more willing to take a chance on career-changers or folks early in their climb. There’s always too much to get done (1/n)

— Liz O'Sullivan 👾 (@lizjosullivan) May 16, 2019

…so it gives you a chance to explore other job roles and find those that most suit your skills. Often, a job at a startup can translate into a career change within that same startup, or a transition to a larger company. (2/n)

— Liz O'Sullivan 👾 (@lizjosullivan) May 16, 2019

For me, I fell in love with entrepreneurship, and have stuck to tiny companies for the whole 10 years I’ve spent in tech. Because I chose startups, I was able to explore careers in sales, marketing, product management, content marketing, people management, and operations! (3/n)

— Liz O'Sullivan 👾 (@lizjosullivan) May 16, 2019

The smaller the startup, the more chances you have to pick up additional skills. That’s how I got my start in image annotations, and where I first learned about bias in AI, and it’s made me one of a small group of people who have had to deal with these issues first hand. (4/n)

— Liz O'Sullivan 👾 (@lizjosullivan) May 16, 2019

My background in sales has translated directly to fundraising for startups, and my background in Philosophy has made me into an evangelist and product explainer. So, you see, there will always be a need for humanities and communication, even in the most technical of fields. (fin)

— Liz O'Sullivan 👾 (@lizjosullivan) May 16, 2019

And the first #AICareerChat is done!

Thanks again to my guest @lizjosullivan!

You taught all the non-#STEM majors how to get an #AI #career!

Now, it’s up to them to use your #advice

— Nick Tang (@nickhtang) May 16, 2019

Thanks for having me, Nick! And if anyone would like to learn more, happy to chat about career things any time. Hit me up!

— Liz O'Sullivan 👾 (@lizjosullivan) May 16, 2019

05/16/2019

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Weekly Media and Tech Roundup

It’s Thursday! Your Weekend? It Starts Now.

Happy Thursday!

I analyze how technology impacts the media and entertainment industry.

Here are the three articles you need to read so you can stay ahead of your competitors. Or you’ll end getting left behind:

1) from Kyle Wiggers:

https://venturebeat.com/2019/05/14/ibms-ai-achieves-state-of-the-art-broadcast-news-captioning/

Let’s be honest. Everyone says artificial intelligence will become your next news captioner/reporter etc. But as you read the article, you’ll notice that this wasn’t done during a live broadcast.

And if you think about it, a TV news operation still needs human reporters/editors etc to find and edit the stories you see on your local TV newscast.

The winners? The human reporters, editors etc.

2) from Charlene Weisler:

http://weislermedia.blogspot.com/2019/05/how-ai-and-machine-learning-are.html

Charlene’s headline says it all. Focus on her interviewees who talk about sports content. And the lastest GOT (Game of Thrones) coffee cup mistake (and how artificial intelligence can be used in both areas).

3) from Robert Briel:

https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2019/05/16/netflix-leads-french-svod-market-with-57-3-share/

If you live in France, these numbers should/will scare you. Why? It demonstrates that technology (in this case, Netflix) is disrupting the linear TV and cable world (think about it for a second. Each time you play/stop/pause a program you watch on Netflix, it’s a datapoint for the company to consider).

P.S. Keep in mind that the French subscribers of Netflix are watching US content (and since there’s a lot of it on Netflix) = higher market share.

That’s your Thursday and early weekend round up from me.

See you next Thursday!

Have a great weekend!

Tagged content, media and entertainment, sports, technology

05/02/2019

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Weekly Media and Tech Roundup

Media/Tech Roundup

It’s Thursday!

Welcome to the start of your weekend!

Here are the two ways (in my mind) on how technology has impacted the media and entertainment sector this week:

A) from Joe Lemire at “Sporttechie” -> artificial intelligence is getting better at reporting high school sports stories. I’d keep on eye on this. Why? Because as the software gets better, it could/will free up the other human reporters to focus on in-depth investigative stories:
https://www.sporttechie.com/lede-ai-scorestream-partnership-automated-high-school-sports-stories/

P.S. I covered this in an #AIChat in February 2019 with Yves Bergquist (Twitter handle: @punkstrategy) and Peter D. Cathy (Twitter handle:@pcsathy). Consider this supplementary material. The topic? Artificial intelligence, media and technology:
https://nickhtang.com/2019/02/22/the-robot-could-be-watching-you/

B) from Jon Lafayette at “Broadcasting and Cable.” Verizon Media is the perfect example of a media company that is using 5G, AR and extended reality to stand out from the rest. Because if you don’t stand out, no one will want to watch your content:
https://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/verizon-media-takes-shopping-documentary-and-news-to-5g and

C) I have to admit, I’m a fitness addict. My second home is the gym. In case you’re bored and you need a cool fitness routine, take a look at the one Coach Paula (my Sunday personal trainer) created for me last Sunday. It’s guaranteed to make you sweat:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw34hsPlpBa/

Have a great Friday and weekend!

See you next Thursday!

Tagged media and entertainment, technology

04/22/2019

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#AIChat

Do you have an achilles heel when it comes to artificial intelligence?

#AIChat is a Twitter chat on artificial intelligence.

My guest(s) give you actionable ideas you can immediately use at home or work.

On April 17th, 2019, my guests for #AIChat were @adlibsoftware and @Adlib_ScottM.

The topic? The Achilles Heel of AI (credit goes to team at @adlibsoftware for the topic title and their help with the questions).

Mistakes are mine.

———————

Here’s Q1 for @adlibsoftware and @Adlib_ScottM:

AI is the buzzword of the day – where are we on the hype cycle? Innovation trigger, inflated expectations, disillusionment, enlightenment or real productivity? #AIChat

— Nick Tang (@nickhtang) April 17, 2019

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