Students Learn about Applying AI Efficiently in Business

14.02.2020

Want to Build an App? You Can. Even Without IT Knowledge, AI Expert Tells Students

Artificial intelligence expert, Dr Larry Lucardie, captivated students this week by cutting through the complexity which many people associate AI with, and showing how it can be applied efficiently in business. He even demonstrated how anyone can build an app without IT knowledge or a programmer.

Lucardie, who is the CEO of Knowledge Values, was the guest speaker at the kick-off meeting for Block 5 Project Week at WUAS, which revolves around artificial intelligence. Lucardie's company has delivered AI to many companies, banks, municipalities and other government agencies.

He started off his lecture by acknowledging that, though AI is developing fast, for most people it remains a mystery. "So far AI has not delivered much for companies. The current economy and organisations struggle with complexity, as knowledge and complexity are closely related. There is complexity in the business value chain and complexity is caused by complex customers. AI can help to make things less complex."

He cautioned that a pre-requisite is that the day-to-day realities in companies are sometimes not taken into account when building systems and processes. "If we don't understand reality, we can't make good systems. A lot of IT people don't understand reality and, therefore, can't build a smart system. For instance, exceptions cannot be automated." He used as an example the penguin - which is a bird, but cannot fly. "It is an exception. I see a lot of penguins when I visit companies.

"We must make automation easier. AI at the moment is very expensive." Many students approached Lucardie after the lecture to hear more about his theories.