The Chairman of Nokia on Ensuring Every Employee Has a Basic Understanding of Machine Learning — Including Him

I’ve long been both paranoid and optimistic about the promise and potential of artificial intelligence to disrupt — well, almost everything. Last year, I was struck by how fast machine learning was developing and I was concerned that both Nokia and I had been a little slow on the uptake. What could I do to educate myself and help the company along?

As chairman of Nokia, I was fortunate to be able to worm my way onto the calendars of several of the world’s top AI researchers. But I only understood bits and pieces of what they told me, and I became frustrated when some of my discussion partners seemed more intent on showing off their own advanced understanding of the topic than truly wanting me to get a handle on “how does it really work.”

I spent some time complaining. Then I realized that as a long-time CEO and Chairman, I had fallen into the trap of being defined by my role: I had grown accustomed to having things explained to me. Instead of trying to figure out the nuts and bolts of a seemingly complicated technology, I had gotten used to someone else doing the heavy lifting.

Why not study machine learning myself and then explain what I learned to others who were struggling with the same questions? That might help them and raise the profile of machine learning in Nokia at the same time.
Going back to school



Read More at:    https://hbr.org/2018/10/the-chairman-of-nokia-on-ensuring-every-employee-has-a-basic-understanding-of-machine-learning-including-him



Posted by:    Jayne Merdith, Tendron Systems Ltd,