Vanguard Magazine

42 JUNE/JULY 2020 www.vanguardcanada.com gAme cHANgeR See the full interview online Q How did you start out in this industry and how has it brought you to where you are today? I started by developing machine learn- ing algorithms for the natural resource sector. This background gave me a good foundational knowledge of machine learning technology, the challenges of working with real-world data (and how it is very different from academic or the- oretical data), and the focus to deliver value and solutions to clients. Q What is your role at your organization today? I'm the VP Operations, responsible for overseeing everything from the day to day running of the company, to strate- gic planning, as well as, still working on the technical side - both in providing an understanding of our technology to prospective clients within a business de- velopment purview and delivering tech- nical insights for our existing projects. Q What was your most challenging moment? Making the transition from being a technical worker to a manager requires a different set of skills and responsibili- ties, and forces some difficult decisions around team management. Q What was your aha moment or epiphany that you think will resonate most with our reader, tell us that story? Any time I have conversations with peo- ple about artificial intelligence it's always eye-opening to hear their perspective. AI is talked about a lot in the media - and has been for so long - that there are all kinds of different misconceptions around what it is, what it does, and how it works. Some people believe it's much further along than it is as a technology, or that it's much easier to deploy than it really is. Others are shocked to learn of all the things we can accomplish with AI today, and how it has relevance for everybody, regardless of industry or ap- plication. Q What is the one thing that has you most fired up today? Decisions should always require data. In too many places important decisions are being made with sub-optimal data. I enjoy being part of an industry that is working towards making better, more informed decisions and applying AI to help end-users solve real challenges. Q What is a habit that contributes to your success? Being optimistic, and opportunistic. You never know what doors will open in your path, and when an interesting op- portunity is presented to you, take it on and run with it. There's always a path forward. Q What people or organizations do you believe best embody the innovation mindset? No singular person or organization jumps to mind, but as always, adversity is a great ally of innovation, and CO- VID-19 has brought about a number of impressive and inspiring adaptations across many industries. There has obvi- ously been hardships for many, but it's been interesting to watch how we all have taken this new reality in stride and changed the way we do business. Q What are some of the biggest impediments to innovation in your industry sector? Misunderstanding of the technology. AI can't be deployed successfully by a tech- nology company alone, or by domain ex- perts alone. It requires collaboration and discussion to develop solutions that make a difference. Q How has innovation become engrained in your organization's culture and how is it being optimized? As a company, we love hearing new chal- lenges from our clients and brainstorm- ing potential solutions. We pair this with our strong academic background, and our ability to keep ourselves up to date on the state of the art technological develop- ments in AI to leverage the best research from around the world and apply it to new challenges with real-world applications. Q What technologies, business models, and trends will drive the biggest changes in your industry over the next two years? The technology (both hardware and soft- ware) has been accelerating in develop- ment for years; that's not new, and it will continue. Over the next few years, the piece that will be more interesting will be watching the ethical and legal frame- works surrounding AI catch up with the technology as the public becomes better educated on the art of the possible and starts to voice opinions around where the boundaries should be. We are on the cusp of accomplishing many incredible things with AI, but in some places just because we can, doesn't always mean we should. Q What is your parting piece of advice? Be curious and ask lots of questions. It may sound cliché, but making assump- tions can far too often get us in trouble, whether in business or our personal lives. You can't solve a challenge unless you ac- tually understand it. Justin Granek VP OPeratiOns Xtract aI

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