Booz Allen Brings Industry Leaders to DC for Machine Intelligence Summit
Imagine if doctors were able to identify patients with pancreatic cancer—before those patients had a diagnosis—just by examining their Internet search queries. A team of scientists recently used advanced data analytics and Machine Intelligence to do just that. Their findings hold the potential to speed up detection of the disease, offering hope to patients through earlier treatment. Machine Intelligence (MI), an approach by which computers are able to learn through large volumes of data without being explicitly programmed, holds enormous potential for industries from healthcare to transportation to defense. As these technologies continue to evolve, organizations that can adopt the transformational power of MI are expected to thrive in a new era of disruptive technology.
To initiate a deeper conversation around MI, Booz Allen Hamilton recently hosted its first Machine Intelligence Summit. This showcase event brought together some of the biggest names in the industry, including Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Intel, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and several promising start-up companies, to share technology, demos and thought leadership.
Held in the Booz Allen Innovation Center, the MI Summit featured nearly two dozen demos from the world’s leading technology companies, Booz Allen project teams, and the open source development community. Some of the more light-hearted demonstrations included a Google-developed Machine Learning Pictionary-style game that guessed in real-time what players drew, a Super Mario Bros. game that learned from its mistakes and improved over time, and a Microsoft-powered guess-your-age game that estimated attendees’ ages with impressive accuracy. Beam telepresence robots enabled Booz Allen employees from Boston to L.A. to participate remotely in machine form. A silent auction of art produced by human-machine collaboration raised money for The Children’s Inn at NIH.
Breaking from the standard event format of an expert panel, the formal program concluded with a debate among junior-level staff on the benefits and risks of pursuing Machine Intelligence development. It was a perfect way to encapsulate the intent of the Summit: to generate awareness, understanding, and interest at all levels of how Machine Intelligence can change the way we live and work.
Moving forward, MI will have a major impact on how Booz Allen empowers its people to change the world. Booz Allen Principal Eric Druker said, “There’s no question that the great opportunities presented by Machine Intelligence will be paired with great challenges. By preparing now, we will best position our firm and our staff to leverage these technologies to transform the way we work and live, ensuring our clients thrive in a rapidly-evolving digital future.”
If this kickoff event is any indication of things to come, Booz Allen is well-positioned to integrate Machine Intelligence into their work, building off early successes in healthcare, transportation, and defense. Booz Allen will use Machine Intelligence to effectively unlock new business value, support client missions, and improve people’s lives.
