AI adoption has gained traction in the past few years, disrupting almost every industry. But implementing AI-based applications can be challenging. AI pioneer, Founder of the Google Brain Team and Landing AI, Former Chief Scientist at Baidu, and Co-founder of Coursera, Andrew Ng, recently shared how companies can adopt AI to transform their operations. 

Here are the key takeaways:

Brainstorm projects and start small

Ng recommends companies start by brainstorming a list of at least half a dozen projects that can use AI rather than diving into just one. Next, he suggests a review of all the possible projects from a technical and business diligence perspective. After a few weeks of analysis, Ng says leaders can pick one or two worthwhile projects and commit to them. The AI pioneer recommends leaders start with small six-to-12 month goals instead of trying to accomplish an expansive vision. 

Ng also recommends starting with a small team and then building it up gradually: “Start with a machine learning team of around five people. That teaches you the early lessons you need to build a bigger team.”

Shift your mindset from big data to good data

The Coursera co-founder says companies need to shift their focus from big data to good data. “If you have a million images, go ahead, use them. But there are lots of problems that can use much smaller data sets that are clearly labeled and carefully curated,” he explains. 

Ng adds: “When you have millions or a billion users, you can have that noisy data and just average it—the learning algorithm will do fine. But if you are in a setting where you have a smaller data set—say, a hundred examples—then this type of noisy data has a huge impact on performance.”

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