AI in supply chain management ..

As we daily see Artificial Intelligence pervading all aspects of human activity like Google search, translation, Google maps, Gmail email replying, chatbots etc.., AI is bound to bring great changes in the supply chain management area too..

Interesting Forbes article, click here ..

Another article here ..

Another article here ..

Another article here ..

Down load article here ..

Some areas could include

demand forecasting
weather forecasting
warehouse availability
Big data analysis of time series data of demand

George..

Short MOOCs are effective..

Massive Open Online Courses are getting popular as popular learning mediums for people of all ages and groups. Over the past one week I have done the following MOOCs from Coursera, Google and Future Learn.

1. AI for Everyone - Coursera, INR 2100/- 

2. Understanding Basics of Machine Learning - Google, Free 

3. Improve your own Business Security,  Google, free  

4. Introduction to Digital Wellbeing,  Google, Free 

5. How to increase Productivity at work, Google,  free 

6. Effective Networking,  Google and Future Learn,  free

Have started a new MOOC from IBM titled Introduction to Data Science. Coursera offers courses free as well as in paid format. At a monthly cost of about Rs 2800, you can finish a course with the capstone project or finish it one's leisure 

The above MOOCs are effective short courses from one hour duration to max ten hours duration  to keep oneself professionally updated and relevant . Pl go to coursera.org and  learndigital.withgoogle.com for a complete list of courses that I have taken over the past one week.

Learning new topics and concepts at any age keeps the brain active and young, building or connecting new synapses and neurons in the brain, reducing or prolonging the onset of da ementia or Alzheimers disease..

So keep learning..

George 

In the age of artificial intelligence .. How to compete ?

Every day, we open the newspaper, listen or read some exciting news from the TV or the internet, more frequently than not, we find it has got some thing to do with the paradigm shift that is bound to happen to the world in the coming decades. Yes, we are talking of the massive changes we can expect to hit the world when artificial intelligence (AI) takes over human control in a great percentage of activities which we now are doing.

I happened to go through an enlightening article on how to manage or compete in the age of AI, by Professors Lansiti and Lakhani in HBR Jan 2020 issue.  (click here)

Most of the time non tech geeks try to avoid any discussion on AI as the world is yet to fully understand AI in it's finest form. What to say, I happened to attend a conference by IIM Bangalore on the topic of AI and the future. I was surprised to understand from the IBM engineer who gave us a peek into the world of AI work in IBM, when he mentioned to us that the AI that is presently in use in Indian industries is the chatbot that interacts with any visitor to the company website and helps the visitor to navigate the site and get the required information not listed at the web site.

The article on AI mentions about 2 AI classifications, the weak AI and strong AI. Weak AI refers to the use of AI in tasks carried out by people, including managing Information systems, build, deliver and operate physical IT products, connected by software, that makes up the core of the firm. Humans who were formerly doing this function re conveniently pushed t the edges.

Strong AI, on the other hand is undeveloped yet and still in labs and research refers to simulating human behavior and reasoning skills.  

Weak AI applications in the coming days will be impacting the following areas - operations, strategy and competition. Strong data analytical skills will lead to better management of the AI infrastructure and applications. 

The essential components of any AI factory will be the following

1. a pipeline, 2. algorithms, 3. experimentation platforms and 4. the hardware and software infrastructure.

George..

Understanding cancer .. a Mayo Clinic document ..

An authoritative article (click here for the document) from the renowned Mayo clinic, to be read by everyone multiple times, to understand -

1. one's predisposition to contracting cancer, 

2. the risk factors involved,

3. changes in lifestyle needed and 

4. healthy diet patterns ..

The Mayo Clinic is an American not-for-profit organization academic medical center founded in 1889 based in Rochester, Minnesota, focused on integrated clinical practice, education, and research. It employs more than 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff.

Hope you find it informative and immensely useful ..

George..

EV charging points - large vs small ..

Watch "World's Largest Charging Square in Shenzhen | INSIDE CHINA'S MOBILITY REVOLUTION" on YouTube

Are such large charging points beneficial for the EV industry as a whole ?

Some of my points on the EV industry are are we getting the power from sustainable sources and are we doing proper reuse and recycling of these batteries.

1. power for the batteries presently may be from non-renewable fossil fuels, but once solar and other renewable sources get popular, the whole dynamics will change.. 

2. 90% of global Lithium resources in Congo are under Chinese control, which may lead to a monopoly... The west may be worried. 

3. Let us not also forget that research is on to find better alternatives to li-ion batteries. 

4. Batteries are *not use once and throw type*. can be recharged at least 1000 cycles (average 100 kms each cycle) and later recycled for less critical stationary applications etc .. So environmental impact may not be problematic as one thinks. 

5. Carefully monitored and properly documented disposal methods have to be resorted to ensure less environmental damage

6. My only concern is - small, decentralized  geographically spread charging stations may be better than such large centralized ones .. 🤔

In future, China can hold the world to ransom  but soon a new battery technology would evolve.

VSSC Trivandrum is doing some cutting edge research in solar energy and have presented it in prestigious conferences around the world.  

I also understand that is why ISRO went for solar panels to power the lunar rover Pragyaan in Chandraayan 2 (though that technology could not be tested) over Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTG) that have been used by Russia, US and China on their lunar probes ..

George 

India's pride - Arvind Kejriwal

Arvind Kejriwal, India's future PM ?

In all probability it is the first time in the world that a governance model of a state is being discussed in a reputed global business school. Arvind Kejriwal's governance of Delhi is being discussed in Harvard Business School as a case study for good governance. It's one of the best lessons of effective administration in Indian democracy by ensuring probity in public life. 

Please listen to this  TED (like) talk (click here) in Hindi delivered recently in Delhi Legislative Assembly Hall by India's only Magsaysay Award ('06) winning Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal IRS (retd.) from IIT KGP. 

Kejriwal's life and governance of Delhi is an example and a lesson of the

• trustworthiness in the person, 
• sincerity of actions
• truthfulness in his dealings,
• reliability in his words
• genuineness in thoughts 
• earnestness of approach and 
• guilelessness in his transactions. 

It is a real case study for business schools on how an elected corruption-free government (in Delhi) can do so much good to it's people, get perfect clean chit from central auditing, investigative agencies and finally finish it's term with excess funds !! The people in return rewarding it by more people voluntarily  paying taxes, increasing the government's kitty to carry out these activities. 

Be it the great planning, dedication, commitment, service mentality and discipline in offering

• the adequately equipped freely-run government schools with good teacher student ratio and better facilities than private schools
• the Mohalla clinics which gives free health care for the deserving people to any extent, like a free health insurance,
• the free electricity upto 200 units per month across the population,
• the free water upto 200 Kilolitres per month for the domestic consumers across Delhi or
• the free bus and metro travel for Delhi women, 

there is presently nobody in the country with so much public credibility as Kejriwal. His experience being an IRS officer on how people resort to different tactics to avoid paying taxes, mainly led by a terrorising Inspector Raj, led to his scrapping the post of Inspectors to check for compliance. His approach was very simple and positive, showing people the benefits they get by paying their taxes properly. In turn, the people convinced that their tax money is not being wasted by the politicians (like the Gujarat CM spending Rs 192 crores of public tax money buying a plane for personal purposes), pay up.

The Indian world-class technology education through the Indian institute of Technology (IIT) system has started paying back to the country through Arvind Kejriwal. Hope other IITians too start giving back to the country than running away to foreign shores and pointing fingers .. Recently a Professor from IIM Bangalore, a graduate of IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad, came into the news when his non-governmental organisation Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) managed to get their petition in the Supreme Court taken up by the SC for the discrepancies in the tally recorded in the EVM machines in 347 constituencies of the total 542 Lok Sabha constituencies in the 2018 Lok Sabha elections. A negative verdict could bring Modi's government down like a pack of cards.

Click here for the video link of Arvind Kejriwal's talk in the Delhi Legislative Assembly. Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) five year tenure of Delhi gets over on 14 February 2020 and the state goes for legislative assembly elections in February 2020 itself.

It is my sincere request that a two day session by Arvind Kejriwal should be organised by the Central Government in Delhi for all Chief Ministers of the states in the country to understand how to effectively govern the country and selflessly serve the people.

Hope our politicians cutting across ideologies and affiliations will make this a reality.

George ..

Cytotron..

Bengalurean's anti-cancer kit, Cytotron - a breakthrough: USFDA ..

"It is a great feeling that after so many years of hard work, against all odds, an institution like the USFDA is designating our work as a breakthrough in the treatment of three types of cancers of liver, pancreas and breast" Rajah Ajaya Kumar, the lead developer said.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/bengalureans-anti-cancer-kit-a-breakthrough-us/articleshow/72015631.cms?UTM_Source=Google_Newsstand&UTM_Campaign=RSS_Feed&UTM_Medium=Referral

https://www.elitaindia.com/Cytotron.html

CYTOTRON has been licensed exclusively to Scalene Cybernetics Limited to manufacture and market it internationally. CYTOTRON is also the registered Trade Mark of Scalene Cybernetics Limited. The whole body machine with 864 guns would cost around 2.5 crore (25 million) Indian rupees.

https://ehealth.eletsonline.com/2009/05/beams-of-hope-dr-r-v-ravi-kumar-of-centre-for-advanced-research-and-development-card-bangalore/