Welcome to the Reboot

Hello, fellow explorers! I’m thrilled to welcome you to the first entry of my blog series, where we journey through the bustling landscape of artificial intelligence together. As AI reshapes industries and redefines our future, many of us find ourselves at a crossroads, eager to grasp this technology’s potential but unsure where to start. This series is my personal chronicle as I navigate these waters—not as an expert, but as a student and enthusiast determined to decode the secrets of AI for practical business applications.

I’m calling this the Great AI Reboot because for me, this is one of those times in my career where I am, in a sense, rebooting. I’ve had to do this a few times over the years – look at where I was headed and consciously make a choice to upskill my way into a new career path. The first time was when I left the world of UNIX/Linux system administration for the world of Networking. The second was when I went from being a mostly backend technical person to a front-end customer facing sales engineer. The third time was when I had to develop leadership and management skills – learning to add value in new ways that were foreign, and under-valued by me. This reboot, the Great AI Reboot, requires me to set my feet firmly into the bedrock of my automation and analytics background and leap away into AI and Machine learning, where I may even leave my beloved networking industry behind.

Why This Blog?

My aim is simple: to demystify the complex world of AI for those of us who aren’t hardcore AI scientists or developers but need to understand enough to make informed decisions and strategies. We’re in an era where understanding AI is not just about coding and algorithms; it’s about envisioning its potential in business, identifying viable use cases, and communicating its value effectively. How much do you need to know about a technology to be an effective technical sales person, technical manager or product manager? Well, a lot, if you want to be a good one. But not everything. The content I have found online seems to either be very shallow content or deeply technical content that could easily turn into a rat hole.

My Approach

This blog will serve as a diary of my discoveries, challenges, and insights. Expect a mix of informal musings, practical tips, and real-life anecdotes. I’ll share rules of thumb and shortcuts to understanding—no deep dives into linear algebra, but rather focused explorations on what you need to know to use AI effectively in business contexts.
I will also be “projecting in the open,” showcasing snippets of what I learn in a methodical yet accessible way. From exploring generative AI’s capabilities to dissecting the layers of neural networks as they pertain to business applications, each post will aim to peel back the layers of AI complexity in a way that feels less like a lecture and more like a conversation among peers.

Visuals and Interactivity

To aid our journey, I’ll sprinkle in visual aids and code snippets that illustrate key points (don’t worry, I’ll keep the coding simple). I encourage you to dive into the comments, share your thoughts, challenge my findings, and suggest directions where we can explore together. Your engagement will enrich this learning process and help all of us move forward.

Looking Forward

As we proceed, I’m open to hosting guest posts and interviews to broaden our perspectives. Success for me will be measured by the community we build here and the confidence we gain in navigating AI together.
Lastly, while I’m keen to solidify my own understanding and perhaps enhance my professional brand within the AI space, my primary goal is to provide a platform that helps you leap into AI with fewer hurdles. Whether you’re a marketer, a product manager, or a business strategist, there’s something here for you.
So, are you ready to ride the wave of AI? Let’s embark on this adventure together, learning and growing with each post. Here’s to becoming not just participants but active shapers of the AI revolution!

Next Step

So where will we start? In my next blog post, which I will be publishing in a few days, I’ll tell you about how I thought through the AI landscape to decide where I should start my learning journey. If you’ve spent any time at all looking into things, you were probably overwhelmed, as I was, by the breadth of avenues of inquiry that are possible. You may have taken a step or two down one path and found the lingo too confusing to make sense of what you were seeing. So where are the foundational steps you can take? How do you build that foundation without losing months or years going down a path which might have little to do with your goals? These are the questions I asked myself, and I’ll walk you through my thought process and share with you where I decided to put my efforts. I’ll also share with you some learning resources that I collected, many of them free.

See you soon, and welcome to the Reboot!