Data The more the better

Part 4:  Data: The more, the better

Because of its deep learning methodology, the AI pulls information from a massive volume of data to run millions of transactions.  I mean, AI digs into seemingly subterranean data layers to access information that, as humans, we would have never been able to readily access or have even thought to use.

Much less anything that would be apparent to a loan officer sitting behind a desk. Seemingly crazy things, like how confident you sound when asking for the loan; how jittery your voice is.  It even looks at things like whether or not you keep your cell phone charged, and a boat-load of other stuff we would have never come up with as relevant.

Chinese society, it seems, went from cash payment to mobile payment systems and, in that process, almost completely bypassed credit cards altogether. In their cashier-less markets, the currency is AI-powered facial recognition. 

And why not? China is the best place on the planet for obtaining data and developing AI implementation strategies simply because of the vast amount of data that’s available in there. Check it out.  I mean, China has a lot more users than any other country by virtue of the sheer numbers; by virtue of the population.

This means:

  • There has to be three to four times more cell phone users than the U.S. has.
  • There are about fifty times more mobile payments than in the U.S., and at least ten times more food deliveries.
  • There is three hundred times the number of shared [bicycle] rides, and each shared bicycle ride has all kinds of sensors submitting data up to the cloud.
  • So, there has to be at least 10 times the data that’s generated in the U.S.

And since data is the literal fuel of AI, that’s what we got to have to run it. This means the more data we have available for it, the better the AI will work.  I really hope we’re letting this sink in because we need to understand the heart and soul of AI is data, data, data.  And, putting it mildly, the one with the most data wins.

Hence, you can see why China has an advantage with their population. In this new age of AI, where data has become the new “oil” fuelling global AI, China is fast-becoming the new Saudi Arabia.