2019 was a GREAT year. Here is why...

Happy New Year to my LinkedIn network! I hope you had an amazing holiday season and started 2020 with family, friends, and plenty of rest & cheer.

Now that we are a few weeks into January and everyone is starting on their plans for 2020, I'd like to take a moment to "humble brag" about my accomplishments in 2019. I don't think people celebrate "wins" nearly enough, so hopefully this inspires you to do the same.

First, I won an Oscar

It was years in the making, it took a lot of long hours, auditions, and early morning call times. But I showed up on time, knew the text, and had a head full of ideas (Thanks, Tom Hanks). It paid off! Hey.

Next, I attended the Met Gala

Traveling to New York over the years, I never thought I would get an invite to the social event of the year, Met Gala! There, I joined the likes of Beyonce, Lada Gaga, Donatella Versace, and more. I was very nervous though, steaming like a hot iron under my collar. It was totally worth it to "high five" Anna Wintour.

Over summer, I took it easy but gained some weight

All that hard work and I was burned out. I needed to rest a bit and recover. Between travel and early morning call times, I wasn't focused enough on fitness. I consumed too much coffee. But sitting around in your bathrobe and watching daytime TV isn't good for your health either. The coffee was cold by time I poured it on my head. Wake up!

I made important decisions about my chocolate factory

Unlimited access to chocolate doesn't help a diet. At times, I questioned my choice in clothes. I made sure "oompa loopas" were taken care of but the kids that sampled the everlasting gobstoppers got nothing. I also started growing my hair out for an important role.

I became "The Witcher"

On the laurels of my Oscar win, I got a great gig with Netflix. Netflix pays well and the hours are great. Loved the books, love the video games, and hate monsters... so why not slay them as The Witcher?! I hope you binge watched over the holidays. Long hair makes for rough windy days, but is needed to make the suit work.

Finally, I escaped Nakatomi Plaza

I was only supposed to be in Los Angeles for a day but it turned into a whole weekend when I got stuck in Nakatomi Plaza during a Christmas party. I had my Zippo lighter to guide me through the air ducts. There were a few bad hombres along the way but I had the help of some FBI guys and the dad from Family Matters. Made it on time to my New Year's Eve party! Yippee-ki-yay!

Is that all, Steve?

I know what you're thinking... that WAS a great year. How can one person get so much done? Well, it was a lot of shallow work and 5 minutes on the new deep fake app. Shocker, none of those accomplishments are mine. Well, maybe the coffee/robe thing but that's not really me in the photo.

You probably noticed the Doublicat logo in all of the images above. It is the newest free app that leverages deep learning to create photo realistic memes by automagically swapping faces. It works by using a still image selfie to create an animated meme. It is free to download, try it out.

The app is powered by Reface.AI, a product of Ukraine-based Neocortext Inc. To learn more about Reface.AI, connect with Dima Shvets, Chief Business Officer.

Why 2019 was GREAT

All jokes aside, 2019 was truly a great year as advances in artificial intelligence, specifically deep learning, positioned us for major economic transformation in the 2020s. In the next decade, we will see the rise in autonomous transportation, first with the trucking industry led by companies like Embark and San Diego's TuSimple, and then quickly followed by personal transport from Google Waymo, Aptiv, and countless others. We will also experience retail transformed as projects like Amazon Go and companies like San Diego's Accel Robotics change the way we shop in the physical world. No more self-check out. In fact, no more "check out" as we know it.

Cancer death rates are already down but we will see that trend continue as AI-powered algorithms assist medical professionals, including decision support for physicians and hospitals. Medtronic launched its GI Genius AI colonoscope product supporting deep learning colorectal polyp detection and San Diego's CureMetrix is accelerating computer-aided detection of breast cancer in mammogram images.

Unfortunately, 2019 also created new business opportunities for bad actors, fraudsters, and rogue states to attack our financial systems, defraud our businesses, and disrupt our democracy. The tools that are freely available via apps and public APIs only scratch the surface of the state of the art. In 2020 and beyond, vigilance and healthy skepticism will be required. But new problems create new potential solutions. Where there are risks, there are also rewards and it is the fact that these problems will be tough to solve that makes them worth solving. Concepts like the origin and authenticity of information, genuine presence, and trusted digital identity will be topics of concern for business and consumers alike.

We are already seeing the beginning of virtual arms race between the good uses of AI and the nefarious ones. This will escalate. The best protection from this escalation is preparation.

Is your business positioned for success?

Just as every business is reliant on software, soon every business will rely on systems and capabilities augmented or supported by artificial intelligence tools. Most businesses will license software from enterprise companies solving niche problems with point solutions or offering a suite of broader capabilities confined to well-defined use cases. But perhaps your business requires a bespoke approach and an investment in its own internal capabilities.

Your business and your customers generate bits and bytes of "digital exhaust" and as constant connectivity remains the norm, how you respond to this exploding data trail is important.

The world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data - The Economist, May 2017

Embarking on your 2020 business roadmap, please think toward the next 5 or 10 years, be sure to consider the following important questions:

• Has my company evaluated the impact of artificial intelligence, deep learning, and the changing economic landscape including establishing an internal AI governance board?
• Does my company apply a strategy framework, such as scenario planning, in order to forecast potential outcomes and appropriate courses of action for the business?
• Does my company have the right technical resources, talent, and financial budget to evaluate important decisions by prototyping and experimenting?
• Does my company have policies, procedures, or guidelines to protect assets and comply with applicable laws such as GDPR and CCPA? Moreover, does my company have a compliance department or head of privacy to stay abreast to these changes?
• If internal AI is a consideration, does my company need an internal team of AI-focused product managers, machine learning engineers, data engineers, and data scientists? Or can those roles be outsourced to third-parties?
• If internal AI is mission critical, what is the company's approach for obtaining and maintaining labeled training datasets that are ethical, inclusive, and representative of business needs? And, does the company have the technical infrastructure and talent to manage and protect it?

2019 was a great year. 2020 will be even more promising but not without deep work and deep thought. I'd be happy to explore any of the above questions with out and can provide suggestions on businesses, services, or individuals to go deeper on those topics.

I wish you all a great January and looking forward to connecting on LinkedIn or at events this year. And Yippee-ki-yay!

If we’re not connected, hit the +Follow button below. On LinkedIn, I share thoughts on fintech, identity verification, artificial intelligence, biometrics, blockchain, the future of work, agile software development, high-performance teams, build culture, and more.