Dr. Steve Shwartz is the author of “Evil Robots, Killer Computers, and Other Myths: The Truth About AI and the Future of Humanity” which was published last month by Fast Company Press. He began his career in AI as a postdoctoral researcher in the Yale University Computer Science Department. Steve has also been a founder or co-founder of many companies. His AI-based Esperant product became one of the leading business intelligence products of the 1990s. He also co-founded Device42 which has won awards as a fast-growing tech company. Steve has also helped fund many startups including Tangoe, which was the 6th best IPO of 2011.
This week, Nick chats with renowned AI researcher and startup investor Dr. Steve Shwartz about Artificial Intelligence if the technology really is, well, intelligent. Steve shares how he started his career in AI and how using some simple machine learning methods (that are still used today) he and others were able to build one of the first programs to bet on horse races in the 1970s, along with a program that accurately predicted three out of the four MLB playoff teams during the same period. Nick and Steve also talk about today’s AI systems and what they are actually capable of vs. what many people think they can do.