HITS

Media and entertainment companies stand to benefit from modernizing their capabilities through advanced and predictive analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), natural language generation (NLG) technology and deep learning (DL), according to Rick Pechter, VP of advanced analytics at MicroStrategy.

“The whole world is changing, and it seems to be just changing and evolving more quickly, he said during the afternoon technology breakout presentation “An Intelligent Way to Bring Together Enterprise Analytics with ML, NLG, AI and Deep Learning” at the Oct. 4 Hollywood Innovation & Technology Summit (HITS) Fall event.

“Our relationship with technology is so different” now than it was just a few years ago, he said, pointing to the increased number of content options that have been made possible by the rapid rise of streaming video devices and services.

It’s estimated that analytics reach about 30% of employees in most organizations. To expand adoption to 100% of a business, that organization needs to go beyond conventional dashboards and leverage next-generation technology to proactively bring insights to users, according to MicroStrategy. And pervasive, intelligent analytics, along with AI, DL, ML and NLG can transform a business and drive adoption like never before, according to the company.

AI “seems to be the buzzword these days,” Pechter said, pointing out “it’s hard to turn on the TV and not find a commercial where somebody’s talking about AI.” He went on to make note of the fear — influenced by “The Terminator” and other science fiction films — among many people, including comic Bill Maher, that AI could lead to the end of the human race.

“I don’t know if I want any AI out there really knowing or needing to know all this [personal] stuff just to help me out,” Pechter conceded. But it’s still useful technology and “we all want AI to do better things for our business,” he said, adding: “The best AI is the AI that makes you feel the love.”

An example of that is NLG being used to take data, such as complicated charts and graphs, interpret it for you and then send you a summary of what the info means “so you don’t have to find the information yourself,” he said.

He also cautioned that “it takes time” to put in place an effective analytics technology solution that works for each organization. “You’re going to iterate on this” he said, adding: “You’re going to iterate … frequently, fail better, faster because your first model is likely going to be your worst model, and you’re going to continue to try and look and find” a model that fits your organization best.

For managers, “if you do a data science project, you’ve got to give them more than one or two weeks,” he said, telling attendees: “Ideally, you’re giving them three to six months and give them some rope for them to play with and some safety to fail. And even if you can’t find a good model — because sometimes the data just doesn’t support it — you’re going to find out why. There must be something missing. There must be something else and it’s going to lead you to another discovery.”

Once a good data model is put in place, an organization will likely have to update it over time and it’s something “you really have to incorporate into your organization’s DNA…and make it part of your core competencies,” he went on to say.

HITS Fall was sponsored by Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Box, Ooyala, TiVo, Cognizant, DXC Technology, Gracenote, LiveTiles, ThinkAnalytics, Wasabi, Aspera, EIDR, MicroStrategy, the Trusted Partner Network, human-I-T, Zaszou IT Consulting, OnPrem Solution Partners, and Bob Gold & Associates, and was produced by the Media & Entertainment Services Alliance (MESA), in association with the Content Delivery & Security Association (CDSA), the Hollywood IT Society (HITS), the Smart Content Council and Women in Technology Hollywood (WiTH).

Click here to access the audio of the presentation. Click here for the MicroStrategy slide deck.