BigID's Data Leader Series: Week 5 - Building Your AI Roadmap with Generative AI Technologies

By: Sara Diaz, Business Analyst Intern at BigID

BigID traveled to AI space with the fifth installment of the Data Leaders Series: AI Fundamentals for Business Executives. Peggy Tsai, CDO of BigID, Stephen Gatchell, Sr. Director of Data Advisory, and Shalonda Willis, Sr. Demand Generation Manager, launched us into our current session, “Building Your AI Roadmap with Generative AI Technologies.”

Usama Fayyad, Executive Director of the Institute for Experiential AI at Northeastern University, and Chairman of Open Insights kicked off this session by emphasizing the practical aspects of implementing AI in business contexts. Drawing from his extensive experience, he stated, “Peppering the stock is kind of my secrets of making AI work in practice because a lot of the focus here is on, well, how do we make it work?” Fayyad highlighted his journey from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to becoming Yahoo’s Chief Data Officer and founding Open Insights, a company dedicated to unlocking the strategic value of data to activate AI. His insights were particularly profound. For instance, he pointed out that unlocking your iPhone with your face is a large-scale implementation of AI that works reliably because it operates within a well-defined domain.

He also stressed the importance of practical applications of AI in healthcare. He discussed technologies like brain disorder detection and disease progression estimation for conditions such as Parkinson’s, which are transforming patient care. “Today, you can actually detect things like brain disorder by having responses to stimuli and tracking, leveraging AI,” he noted. He emphasized that while such implementations are impressive, the true potential of AI lies in its ability to revolutionize various industries by making data-driven decisions and automating complex tasks. “So instead of having to go to the clinic, you can actually do most of the stuff at home, which allows for more frequent tracking, in fact, better tracking, better measurement, more consistent and so forth,” he explained, emphasizing the advancements in healthcare applications. “It’s not enough to give the best strategies, but you need to be able to help companies,” he added, demonstrating the importance of execution in AI initiatives.

“It’s not enough to give the best strategies, but you need to be able to help companies.”- Usama Fayyad, Executive Director of the Institute for Experiential AI at Northeastern University, and Chairman of Open Insights?

Fayyad also highlighted the significance of AI in everyday applications and the broader implications for business and technology. He remarked, “Unlocking your iPhone with your face is one of the big-scale implementations of AI capability that reached a lot of people and was working fairly reliably.” He emphasized that while such implementations are impressive, the true potential of AI lies in its ability to revolutionize various industries by making data-driven decisions and automating complex tasks.?

During the session, participants engaged in a series of poll questions to identify the main challenges and current deployments of Generative AI within their organizations. The most challenging aspect was defining clear goals and value propositions (38%), followed by integrating and deploying Generative AI solutions (25%) and building a responsible AI framework (25%). Lesser challenges included choosing the right use case and technology (13%), while assessing AI maturity and resource allocation and developing and testing Generative AI models were not seen as significant hurdles, both at 0%. Regarding current deployments, off-the-shelf solutions like Microsoft Copilot were the most popular (38%), followed by Prompt Engineering and custom-built solutions at 31%. To lighten the mood, Business Analyst Intern Sara Diaz hosted a fun game of hAIku, where participants determined whether haikus were generated by AI or written by human poets, showcasing the creative capabilities of AI in a unique and engaging way.

Our next speaker, Alan Boucher, Enterprise Architect at IDEXX Laboratories in Westbrook, Maine, provided detailed insights into the practical implementation of AI at the enterprise level. At IDEXX, Boucher leads enterprise architecture and AI, overseeing new software product development and quality engineering. He discussed IDEXX's proactive approach to AI adoption since the fall of 2022, noting, “We saw what was coming and what was happening, and we started to gear up in a number of different ways and jumped right in with both feet.” This preparation involved scaling their digital infrastructure, optimizing cloud deployments, and integrating AI capabilities across various teams and projects. “We have probably 75 or 80% of all of our applications running in commercial cloud across three clouds, which gives us scalability, resiliency, and flexibility,” he explained. Boucher’s team has been instrumental in ensuring that IDEXX’s AI systems are robust, scalable, and aligned with the company’s strategic goals, enabling them to deploy workloads and applications efficiently across the globe.

Boucher also emphasized the omnipresence of AI in their operations, explaining how AI discussions have become a staple at all levels of the company. “I can't go to a meeting, I can't talk to anyone in the company without having a discussion about AI. It's everything everywhere, all the time,” he shared, delightfully referencing the action-packed A24 film and connecting its message to AI. This constant focus on AI highlights its importance and transformative potential at IDEXX. By embedding AI into daily operations, Boucher highlights IDEXX’s aim to enhance productivity, drive innovation, and maintain its competitive edge in the market. For example, AI is used in their reference laboratories for veterinary hospitals, software and services, diagnostic instruments, and various business applications, such as water purification and livestock testing. The comprehensive integration of AI reflects the company’s commitment to leveraging technology to meet and exceed business objectives, ensuring that they remain at the forefront of innovation in their industry.

“I can't go to a meeting, I can't talk to anyone in the company without having a discussion about AI. It's everything everywhere, all the time.” - Alan Boucher, Enterprise Architect at IDEXX Laboratories?

Milan McGraw, Head of Generative AI and ML at AWS, delivered an insightful presentation on the innovative applications of generative AI at Amazon. Highlighting the diverse uses of AI, McGraw emphasized how Amazon Ads leverages AI-powered image generation to help advertisers enhance their ad performance. "We're removing creative barriers and enabling brands to produce stunning lifestyle imagery at the click of a button," McGraw noted. This tool, powered by Amazon SageMaker, simplifies the process for advertisers, allowing them to generate high-quality images effortlessly and revolutionize their creative processes.

McGraw also discussed Rufus, Amazon's generative AI-powered shopping assistant, which aids customers in finding and discovering the best products. "Rufus is a game-changer—one of the most advanced models we've ever created," McGraw stated. "It's trained on Amazon’s extensive product catalog, reviews, and Q&A, making it an invaluable resource for both customers and internal Amazon builders." Additionally, McGraw introduced AI innovations in Amazon Pharmacy, such as the LLM-based chatbot on Amazon SageMaker, which supports customer care teams by providing faster prescriptions and more helpful support. "We've revolutionized prescription processing, increasing speed by 90% and slashing the rate of human error," he highlighted. "Our goal is to provide patients with not just faster service, but also greater transparency and support."

Lastly, McGraw showcased Maestro, an AI playlist generator on Amazon Music that makes creating playlists easier and more fun based on user prompts. "Maestro is redefining how we experience music, making playlist creation a breeze," McGraw mentioned, noting that the feature is currently in beta for Amazon Music subscribers and powered by Amazon Bedrock. Amazon Bedrock is a fully managed service offering high-performing foundation models from leading AI companies through a single API, with capabilities for building secure, private, and responsible generative AI applications. "It's about enhancing user experience and making technology more intuitive and enjoyable." He also highlighted the significant impact of generative AI in the life sciences sector, citing Alnylam Pharmaceuticals as a case study. By using Amazon Bedrock, Alnylam created a solution for managing and triaging product complaints, significantly reducing their response time from days to hours. "Alnylam Pharmaceuticals has cut down their reporting time from days to mere hours, thanks to our generative AI," McGraw concluded. "It's a testament to how AI can transform industries, driving efficiency and innovation."

"It's a testament to how AI can transform industries, driving efficiency and innovation."-Milan McGraw, Head of Generative AI and ML at AWS

Stay tuned for our last session of the Data Leaders Series, “How to Scale and Sustain AI in Industry,” where you can learn directly from industry applications of AI in healthcare and more.?

At BigID, we're dedicated to supporting organizations in managing their data effectively, ensuring it's used ethically, securely, and compliantly across its lifecycle. If you're eager to delve deeper into topics like privacy, security, strategy, and governance in the realm of AI and data, explore our workshops and webinars available on the BigID University page and BigID’s website.

?