BigID's Data Leaders Series: Week 1 - AI and Leadership: Insights from the Top and Navigating Implementation

By: Sara Diaz, Business Analyst Intern at BigID

After a year of preparation, BigID launched Session 1 of the Data Leader Series: AI Fundamentals for Business Execs designed for future data leaders on May 14, 2024. Led by Peggy Tsai, CDO at BigID, and Stephen Gatchell, Sr. Director of Data Advisory, the program offered a tailored blend of privacy, security, technology, strategy, and data AI-focused content. This session, titled "AI and Leadership: Insights from the Top and Navigating Implementation" included business leaders from both private and public sectors in AI. Participants from various regions, including Dublin, Ireland, Austin, Texas, and Dubai, UAE, and from diverse sectors such as healthcare, banking, and technology, collaborated on enhancing their data governance and data quality practices. As Tsai aptly put it, "We want to arm you with all of this knowledge and to make you a much more well-rounded data AI executive, whatever your role is in your organization." 

The first installment of the Data Leader Series launched with guest speakers Babar Bhatti, Executive Vice President/Co-Founder of Dallas.AI and Principal Customer Success in AI at IBM, and Aamer Charania, President/Co-Founder of Dallas.AI and Head of Applied Machine Learning at Best Buy. Bhatti and Charania set the stage with insights on best practices in the GenAI space. Charania kicked off the presentation, highlighting the complexities of AI’s capabilities and its interconnectedness with neural networks/deep learning, transformers, foundation models, and large language models (LLMs). 

 One key field within AI is machine learning, where systems learn from data rather than being explicitly programmed. As Charania put it, "The best way to explain it is to think of it as a system writing its own ‘if-then’ rules." Advanced architectures like transformers prioritize certain information to capture context, leading to the development of foundational models and large language models (LLMs) under generative AI. 

Baber swiftly transitioned into the importance of AI use cases, including code generation, chatbots, and data analysis, emphasizing that "you cannot treat AI and generative AI like another IT project. It will change the operations of your business." This transformation requires a nuanced approach to integration and risk management, ensuring that AI solutions align with the company's strategic goals without unforeseen consequences.

During the implementation stages, it's essential to define the problem clearly. Charania notes, "Make sure that you have a problem or, better, many problems that are valuable to solve. Avoid the urge of 'what can you solve with GenAI' and instead focus on the specific problem at hand," ensuring that the technology is applied where it can make the most significant impact. 

"Make sure that you have a problem or, better, many problems that are valuable to solve. Avoid the urge of 'what can you solve with GenAI' and instead focus on the specific problem at hand." –Aamer Charania, Head of Applied ML at Best Buy

Deployment and integration into existing systems are where many projects face challenges. Charania advises attendees to consider how to infuse real-time information into a model, using techniques like retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), highlighting the importance of frameworks like LangChain, which simplify the integration of AI models into business workflows.

Another significant challenge is ensuring data quality and governance, especially for sensitive applications like healthcare or finance. "It [data] is absolutely important, and for generative AI, it's more important because a lot of things happen under the hood," says Charania. Filtering out sensitive attributes and ensuring compliance with legal and ethical standards are essential steps in this process.

The first presentation ended with a perceptive Q&A discussion. Attendee Krishna Sanga, Head of AI & Data at Herbalife asked, “As the AI Hype Cycle is at its peak how relevant/important is the first mover's advantage for an enterprise to invest and productionize Gen AI use cases?” Baber insightfully advised,” You want to invest in learning and figuring out which use cases are the best,” he continued,

“If you do not learn and experiment with GenAI, you will be left out…It’s up to you to figure out what works best.”

Another distinguished guest speaker, Captain Brian Erickson, Chief Data & AI Officer of the United States Coast Guard, brought invaluable insights to the table. With a wealth of experience in the maritime industry, Erickson shed further light on the evolving landscape of AI applications and its impact on industry practices.

In the wake of technological advancements, the US Coast Guard found itself at a crossroads—a juncture where the traditional approach to operations clashed with the demands of a data-driven world. Erickson spearheaded a transformative journey within the organization, navigating the intricacies of data utilization and artificial intelligence (AI) integration. As Erickson contends, "We are going through a technology revolution."

"We [US Coast Guard] are going through a technology revolution."- Captain Brian Erickson

Erickson's appointment as the Coast Guard's first Chief Data Officer marked a pivotal moment in the organization's history. His mandate was clear—to catalyze a data-centric culture and establish robust frameworks for data governance and utilization. Despite substantial investments in infrastructure and equipment, there remained a conspicuous gap in harnessing the potential of data. "That is really where I came in," Erickson recalls, underscoring the pivotal role he assumed in steering the Coast Guard toward data enlightenment.

Under Erickson's leadership, the Coast Guard embarked on a multifaceted initiative to embrace data as a strategic asset. Key milestones included the establishment of the first Coast Guard data strategy and cloud adoption strategy, alongside the formation of the inaugural data governance board, laying the groundwork for a systematic approach to data management and utilization across the organization. Central to Erickson's vision was the recognition of AI as a transformative force. Collaborating with counterparts in the Department of Defense (DoD) and leveraging insights from federal partners, the Coast Guard forged alliances to navigate the evolving landscape of AI technology. "Data is not just an IT function; data is a strategic asset," Erickson asserts, highlighting the pivotal role of AI in augmenting operational capabilities.

Erickson's narrative is punctuated with real-world examples that underscore the transformative impact of AI in Coast Guard operations. From the response to the MV Golden Ray incident to small maritime object detection initiatives, AI emerged as a silent sentinel, augmenting human capabilities and ensuring mission success in the face of adversity. As organizations confront the complexities of the data frontier, Erickson advocates for a proactive approach anchored in metrics-driven decision-making. As Erickson aptly summarizes, "Artificial intelligence is not going to replace humans in the future, but humans using artificial intelligence are going to replace humans that are not using AI."

"Artificial intelligence is not going to replace humans in the future, but humans using artificial intelligence are going to replace humans that are not using AI."- Captain Brian Erickson

After two introspective presentations by our guest speakers, Alex Bulis, Vice President of Education and Community at BigID joined us to give a demo on how to use BigID University’s platform for the Data Leaders Series to receive credit and badges upon completion of the program.

Mary Alice Coker, Director of People & Culture at BigID, continued the series with a fun game of “Is it AI?: Art Edition” where attendees determined AI-generated art from art by humans. The series concluded with breakout sessions led by BigID facilitators, leading to fruitful discussions with business leaders across industries. 

Stay tuned for next week as we explore the role of the Chief Data Officer in AI with John Bottega , President of the EDM Council. We'll also be sharing some of the EDM Council's frameworks for cloud governance and upcoming data and AI working groups.

More on BigID: If you're interested in learning more about privacy, security, and strategy in AI and data, you can go to BigID's website and attend our workshops and webinars on the BigID University page!