From the Gutenberg Press to Twitter - how tech innovation gives legitimacy to our words. Phillip gets down and dirty with AI and warns retailers of marketing confusion. Also - what exactly is Deep Learning?

Show Notes

Vibe notice: if the vibe is different, it's because this is the first in-person episode with Phillip and Brian and they're having way too much fun with no imbibing of ethyl alcohol before recording.

For more information about the evolution of media and journalism check out Understanding Media by Marshall McLuhan, a fascinating read covering the evolution of media in the Western World.

Shoutout to Kiri Masters:

We're sorry we forgot to mention your great podcast on episode 52. We're sorry; we're the worst.
Come on the show to talk about building a brand!

In the meantime, folks, go listen to Kiri Masters' Ecommerce BrainTrust.

Our Inaugural NPS:

Very first NPS went really well. It was fun to hear from our listeners.
The FutureCommerce's copywriter's job is in jeopary: thanks NPS commenter.

The Big Think Segment

What can HAM radio teach us about decency in the social Age?
Evolution of the written word: the Gutenberg Press gave authority to printed material due to the medium in which it was distributed.
When something is in print, it carries weight and authority.
Journalistic practices evolved out the necessity for us to bring ethics to the printed medium.
Fast forward and Facebook and Twitter over the last 5 years have become the authoritative choice for disseminating news.
Riley Florence tweeted parallels between Twitter and HAM radio's early toxicity of the medium.
Early adopters had to come up with a set of guidelines to root out rampant toxicity.

Retail Prophet

Retail Prophet Doug Stevens first podcast says the future of commerce is social.

Implications for retail: if some of our greatest thinkers say social is the next frontier for retailers, and social is a toxic place, then we need to know how to behave ourselves as retailers and consumers in the social medium.
New mediums create paradigms that require getting used to and understanding.

Facebook Messenger Kids

What you think it is vs. what it actually is:
- What you probably think it is: we don't need another product to help our kids get on chat.
- There's an Inherent creepiness to marketing chat to kids.
- A real fear that creepy people can subvert the platform for dangerous purposes.
- What it actually is: a way to control and keep your kids safe when chatting online.
It gives parents the tools to keep your kids safe when using a chat platform.
It's like kik or snapchat with parental controls.
It's, "I as a parent get to moderate who gets to talk to you." Which is smart and healthy.
Important to shepherd and teach our children that these can be mediums for both good and bad.

Future Policy with Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Daniel Sepulveda:

Episode 51's conversation about the Digital Divide serves as a good frame for the policy conversations we're going to have.
It's exactly how the legislative process works: a conversation between 2 people from either side of the aisle hashing out problems and solutions.
Together they come up with a zone of agreement and bring it to their bosses and the bosses talk to each other, and then bring it to their colleagues and they take it to their colleagues, and eventually a solution is proposed.
Brian took the course of free market economics and the rise of innovation as the natural course of economics, so net net it will be a positive.
Phillip worries that we have responsibilities to each other and and have communal responsibilities for those who are going to lose out that aren't being discussed.
They each held two different points of view, each listened to each other and have a natural respect for one another and were able to have a respectful conversation. / What's missing today is the ability to come together with mutual respect and listen and examine the question to eventually come to a solution
That's what Danny hopes we would do as we talk about future issues going forward.

Machine Learning and AI and Marketing Confusion:

Google Brain's auto machine learning (Auto ML) created its own Artificial Intelligence.
The researchers at Google Brain announced the creation of autoML, an AI that is capable of creating its own AI. The babies are having babies.
It created something called NASnet that recognizes objects in video at real time and has an 82.9% success rate.
Brian wants you to watch Person of Interest.
AI term and the Machine Learning terms are being abused because people don't understand the difference.
See episode 14 for an overview of this with Jonathan Epstein from Sentient Technologies.
Retailers: caveat emptor! Be highly skeptical of any technology provider telling you they're using deep learning or AI.
It's only been recently that Google and Amazon have productized deep learning.

Explanation of Machine Learning

Machine learning is trying to find the best fit algorithm. Think of a scatter plot in Microsoft Excel
You can make a best fit straight line with a particular slope that will try to hit an average or median between all of the points on your scatter plot
Imagine what that looks like. You'll see that the straight line is really far off the mark from most of those points because it's an average. That means there are major outliers.
The difference of machine learning is the straight line. The deep learning continues to perform refinements to the line to get it closer to all of those data points.
That's called gradient descent. It's not just 2D it's a multidimensional scatter plot.
It's still just trying to find a better fit line, and n finding that better line, it can begin to make predictions about where a particular data point may fall along that line.
What most people are selling you is the straight line. They're selling you a really average product.
It's the difference between A/B testing and 1 to 1 personalization.
Most are doing A/B testing and calling it 1 to 1 because they don't have the means to do it.
Retailers: if you're being sold that you have to bake AI into something, or every single product has AI branded on it, don't be fooled.
If they are not using Google, IBM, Amazon, Microsoft or Sentient technology, it's probably not legitimate.
If you're listening to this right now in 2017, be skeptical.

Future AI/ML

In a while it may become so simple any founder can use: think Amazon Rekognition and Google Poly.
Think of them like the Gutenberg Press: at first it was a highly skilled profession that only a few could use, and now any numbskull can start a tumblr and share their thoughts.
Amazon Sumerian for example: anyone can make 3D now.
Microsoft Paint for VR.

Wrap it Up! Bitcoin Edition:

We're making a commitment to getting a Bitcoin expert on our show!
It's doubling again: 16K as we speak.
Two news reports have come out. One: Bank of America won a patent for cryptocurrency.
Two: JP Morgan put out a buy rating for Bitcoin for 15K. Buy at 15K.
We know nothing about bitcoin, so we need to get an expert on with us.

Finally:

Our 2018 prediction show is coming up! Subscribe to our podcast anywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts and sign up for FC INSIDERS for exclusive content.

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August 7, 2016 — Listeners Sue and Ufology, and Guest Co-host Micah Hanks