Competing with Artificial Intelligence and Cloud (2235.YR.014113.1)

General information

Type:	OPT	Curs:	1	Period:	S semester
ECTS Credits:	4 ECTS

Teaching Staff:

Group	Teacher	Department	Language
Year 1	Esteve Almirall Mezquita	Operaciones, Innovación y Data Sciences	ENG

In 2011, The Wall Street Journal published one article of Marc Andreessen that became famous, "Why Software is Eating the World? . If this was already true in 2011, a quick look at the graphic below shows that today, almost ten years later, software has already eaten the world. Companies that heavily leverage on AI, Big Data, Robotics, IoT and Cloud Computing dominate markets and, in many ways, shape our lives. Perhaps the scariest part is the speed at which all this happened.

This course explores this disruption and attempts to provide some clues on how to compete and thrive in it.

We will approach it from three different perspectives.

First, we want to understand the nature of the disruption, its triggers, the mechanisms that drive it and its limits.

Second, we need to understand how the organizations that are successful in this disruption, operate and understand their structure and methodologies. Speed and business agility are critical.

And finally, we must understand how markets and competition work in this environment. What is the same and what is different and how this seemingly quasi-exponential growth can be achieved without marketing, advertisement or even branding.

However, this course doesn't want to be just a theoretical understanding of the AI revolution, but rather to force you to engage in a dialogue about it, in the hopes that it will challenge your views and perhaps change some of them on markets, technology and competition.

Through this discussion you will develop not only new understandings and skills but also critical thinking that will empower you to act and make more informed decisions on how to drive change and how to contribute to ongoing projects driven by AI & Cloud.

The AI & Cloud revolution seems mature, but it is still in its early infancy, what awaits us is much more exciting and powerful than what we have witnessed so far; it is transversal, few areas, if any, will not be affected from agriculture to high tech.

Welcome to Competing with AI & Cloud!!!

The AI & Cloud disruption represents a major shift in the way organizations compete, succeed and run internally. This has social, organizational but also personal implications that change the way we perform and succeed at all levels: personal, organizational and societal.

Being able not only to understand but to thrive in this disruption is the objective of this course. These are our three goals,
1. Understand the AI & Cloud disruption.
a) Understand the key factors that drive it, along with its role and mechanisms of disruption.
b) Assess the impact of the disruption in different industries and areas along with their limits.
c) Visualize its potential and prospective future evolution.

2. Become a successful asset in the "new? organization.
a) Be familiar with agile & data-driven methodologies and flat organizations where the coordination lies in code.
b) Understand the "AI factory? and its implications in terms of work, operations and exploration.
c) Learn the key factors that will make you successful and thrive in digitally transformed organizations.

3. Understand and be able to trigger GROWTH in the A.I. & Cloud era.
a) Understand the role of innovation in the age of AI and how to trigger and manage it according to the industry.
b) Be able to evaluate and design growth strategies using network, data and learning effects.
c) Understand the transformative role of continuous experimentation and data-experiment driven organizations.

1. Topic 1 - The AI Disruption In this topic we will focus on the forces that triggered the disruption: Big Data, AI, Cloud, IoT and the Web. We will examine their impact, why they were and are able to sustain disruption and the mechanics inside this disruption. These are the fundamental mechanisms that we must know, along with applicability, limitations and potential evolution. They are shaping and modeling the digital natives that are changing interactions, competition and how organizations are managed.

2. Topic 2 ¿ Competing with AI & Cloud The impact, methods and approaches are certainly very different depending on the industry and the functional area. For example, if we take a look at logistics, we will find that software models are embodied in robots that run warehouses, while on social media platforms these models are focus on targeting and personalization. We must deepen our understanding because the realities of disruption are not uniform, neither are their affordabilities nor its impact. This topic reviews and compares salient characteristics of how AI & Cloud are being used in a variety of industries and sectors and how they completely transformed them.

3. Topic 3 ¿ Exponential Growth ¿ Platforms The how and the speed of the growth of the new economy is one of the most salient characteristics of this disruption. Have you ever seen a WhatsApp ad? Probably not, still it is one of the largest social networks in the world and reached this position in record time. This topic will be devoted to understanding growth in terms of network, data and learning effects along with persuasive technologies used to attract and maintain users¿ attention and affiliation. In this session we will present ¿The Growth Model¿ that will be used for the group exercise. It¿s our model for formalizing, designing and exploring how network, data and learning effects enable and produce growth.

4. Topic 4 ¿ Digital Innovation Innovation is the leading force behind growth today. Every year we expect more than improvements from companies such as Apple, Google, Amazon, Neurolink, SpaceX, ¿ Events are held disclosing new proposals of these companies that present, in many cases, substantial advances to what was possible before. In this topic we are going to delve into current innovation practices in digital companies, asking ourselves some hard questions such as what type of innovation is better to promote in your company or group: radical, moonshots, incremental, R&D,¿? Is there such a thing as radical innovation in digital ventures? When do we have to emphasize user studies or tech R&D?

5. Topic 5 ¿ Agile, the new normal Internally companies have changed a lot. Not only in terms of getting smaller, with flatter structures resulting of shifting coordination to software but also in terms of how they organize and conduct their projects. Project management as we know is gone and the agile concept now dominates business. There are two dominant implementations, SCRUM in tech companies and Kanban in manufacturing companies. However, their implementations have evolved a lot since the early days and have cross-fertilized. Also, planning for data and data KPIs & OKRs represents a major shift for product owners that is reshaping their work, performance metrics and their overall approach. In addition, some movements started since quite some years, reflecting and criticizing both approaches. In this topic we will take an in-depth look at the state of the discussion and where it is headed.

6. Topic 6 ¿ Experimentation Experimentation plays an important role in how these companies innovate and manage both projects and existing applications. Companies like Amazon or Netflix conduct tens of thousands experiments every year and have very well-established experimentation platforms. Not only in areas such as software or AI models in the cloud, where continuous experimentation due to data drifting is the usual practice, but also in logistics, robotics, IoT, marketing, ¿ The culture of experimentation is today everywhere. This topic closely analyzes experimentation in companies and experimentation platforms, how they are implemented and used, how experiments are designed and the limitations of the approach that today transcends management to the point that some wonder if the scientific method is already dead.

7. Topic 7 ¿ The AI Factory Behind this transformation we find the last stage of evolution of IT that went from monolithic programs to two-tier, three-tier, the web, containers and now micro-services and API based architectures. Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) using DevOps and platform tools further automate the software lifecycle, bringing making true agility a reality. In this topic we will take a historical perspective on IT and focus on how AI models are developed and brought into production today and the implications for organizations, labor and competition.

8. Topic 8 ¿ The secret sauce: Cloud Platforms Behind the A.I. disruption we find the economy. Zero marginal cost, investments transformed into variable costs, virtually infinite scalability, instant deployment and compliance, to name just a few of the elements that underpin the A.I. revolution, are consequence of the use of Cloud Platforms. In addition to this, Cloud Platforms are rapidly evolving, creating new affordabilities that will further transform our organizations and our society. However, this comes at a price, the growing power of a few companies that are the new natural monopolies and the confrontation of two systems with their own tech giants.

The methodological objective of this course is to provide the elements for the deep assimilation of frameworks and knowledge that can be used to analyze and act. The course highly leverages on group discussion to collectively explore course topics before providing structure to them. The assimilation not only of the contents but also of the frameworks is reinforced by reflecting on each topic through a series of key questions that touch on its most important areas.
Your attitude will be the key factor that will determine not only the success of the course, but also your success in terms of the quality and quantity of your learning. This course aims to go beyond "learning things? to become transformative for you giving you the opportunity to repeatedly engage with the class and learn to participate in discussions presenting your arguments in a convincing and civilize manner beyond imposing yourself or forcing your ideas, values or beliefs on others.
We need two things from you to make this possible and for the course to be successful. First of all, we need you to get involved in the course. This is not a course where you can passively attend, on the contrary, we need that you take charge of your education and make active effort with both the materials and the class. Secondly, we need that you actively participate in class discussions with the idea in mind of contributing to a common discovery and an open attitude to change your ideas, beliefs and points of view.

All classes are co-created. The success of a class depends as much of you and your attitude as of the professor. However, this is even more important in this course because participation is a key element. Participation sounds many times too generic and is being reduce to a few class interventions. This is not what we mean, but your full involvement with the course.
1. Come prepared, having read or seen the materials with a learning attitude. Do your research and do it right.
2. Analyze the underlying arguments, go beyond the cheap and easy explanations. Sometimes organizations choose paths that seem incomprehensible, resist the temptation to label them "stupid?, they did it for a reason. Try to find and understand it.
3. Weight confronted and conflicting points of view. Don't be a "one-side person?. Be able to defend both points of view in a conflict without giving up your own values.
4. Listen and listen carefully to the opinions of others and try to build on them, making valuable contributions.
5. Adapt and integrate the opinions of others. New ideas and proposals come mainly from recombination, learn to hybridize intelligently. Be open to change your beliefs and views in the light of new arguments or evidence.
6. Be civil and respectful, it is not about outsmarting others and being confrontational. Do not interrupt or participate in direct confrontations. It's about confronting ideas not people.
7. Professors are different. They need to moderate and avoid the blocking or monopolization of the debate. They need to ignite it and hence you will face "cold calls?. They also need to conduct the debate to the learnings of the topic and avoid confrontations or monopolization either of a topic or of a person. They will interrupt you if necessary, this doesn't mean that you can do the same.
This course is not about learning facts or acquiring new skills but integrating frameworks and using them in practice in debates and discussions. Therefore, it requires a different approach in the learning process. It is not based on memorizing new information or the deliberate practice of a new skill, it's a process of reflection and integration of routines of reasoning and mental maps.

Three practices are necessary for this integration to be effective.
a. Reflection. You need to reflect on the learnings building your own framework and challenging it through "thought experiments?, repeatedly challenging and confronting it.
b. Visual representations such as diagrams, mind-maps, even bullet points will help you to surface and understand the connections and cause-effect relations in the framework.
c. Practicing it by using it in discussions and distilling it from discussions will not only help you to integrate it but prepare you for life.
Humans are social beings; professional and personal advancement is also a social process that is conducted through interchange. Discussions and debates play a crucial role in this process. This course will help you to excel at it and could greatly contribute to your personal and professional advancement.

What we expect from you
Prepare and prepare thoughtfully.
Be on time with the right attitude. Don't come to attend, but to participate and get involved (bring you name tag, professors want to be able to call you by your name, give them this opportunity!).
Participate, participate and participate!!! This class is not a video lecture.

Electronic device policy
NO LAPTOPS. Research shows that humans cannot do two conscious things at the same time. They can only quickly switch between them and this comes at a cost in terms of attention and attitude. Our brain gets annoyed by it resulting in a lower quality experience. It is not about being there but being in the present moment.
Tablets. Taking notes helps, particularly if you learn to draw mind-maps of the argumentation. Always use a pencil of an electronic pen, it offers you many more opportunities of depicting the arguments than bullet points that can only be hierarchical and not networked. Social processes have multiple and many times circular interconnections and negative or positive loops.
Smartphones must be off or in silent mode.


Our sessions are a process divided into six different phases to maximize learning.

(1) Intro (individual). The topic is introduced either with a short video or a narrative, presenting not only the topic but the materials, highlighting why this topic is relevant in terms of competition and organizational or societal disruption.
(2) Research (individual). Individually you should set aside two to three hours per session to read the materials, view the videos and reflect on the initial discussion question that we will use as a trigger for exploration.
(3) Discussion (in class). We will discuss in class the question and the topic in class. Here we expect your participation with significant contributions. Our success depends on the depth of the collective exploration of the topic.
(4) Lecture (recorded). After we will have an online lecture that will structure and frame the different aspects that emerged in the discussion. Here we will continue to provide the tools to understand, analyze and succeed in the A.I. era.
Slides and the recorded lecture will be provided only after the discussion class to preserve the "wow? effect and allow the exploration of the topic.
(5) Key learnings (recorded). The lecture will summarize the key learnings of the subject, thus providing one more element to enable assimilation and their incorporation as tools in your arsenal.
(6) Assimilation (individual). Assimilation will be further enhanced by providing post-topic questions that will allow you to reflect into the key points and give full meaning to materials, discussions and lectures.

Each topic is covered with two sessions, one in class and another one online, complemented with personal work before and after to explore and reflect on the topic covered in the sessions.

The lectures, videos and additional material will be found in the Moodle of the course. However, you might be interested in delving into some of the areas, so you can find here some additional bibliography here, mostly books.

I encourage you to read at least a few, this disruption is not only one of the most exciting topics in business and I.S. but also of crucial importance for your career.

If there is a single idea that could be the most important in this course, it is without a doubt to realize that organizations are translating their organizational routines into model in the cloud. This changes the balance between exploration and exploitation in these organizations giving rise to new structures, which are managed and compete differently.

You can find a more extensive description of this here, you may be interested in taking a moment and getting over it.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/esade/2019/01/10/from-competing-on-analytics-to-companies-as-code/



Topic 1 - The AI Disruption
Our DoBetter podcast with Prof. Karim Lakhani is a good introduction to this topic.

https://dobetter.esade.edu/en/artificial-intelligence-leadership?_wrapper_format=html

Also, Karim Lkhani and Marco Iansti book "Competing in the Age of AI?.

https://www.amazon.com/Competing-Age-AI-Leadership-Algorithms-ebook/dp/B07MWCTNSD/ref=sr_1_1


Topic 2 - Competing with AI & Cloud

This is possible a complicated topic where to suggest bibliography. Certainly there are many books about Digital Transformation and its impact.

I particularly like the one of Thomas Siebel, "Digital Transformation?.

https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Transformation-Survive-Thrive-Extinction-ebook/dp/B07SPDT74L/ref=sr_1_1


Topic 3 - Exponential Growth - Platforms

There are now many books on platforms, but probably the one that ignited the field is still an excellent introduction to the topic.

It's Parker, Van Alstyne and Choudrary book "Platform Revolution?, a book that you all must read.

https://www.amazon.com/Platform-Revolution-Networked-Transforming-Economyand-ebook/dp/B00ZAT8VS4/ref=sr_1_1


Topic 4 - Digital Innovation

This is a book that has yet to be written, instead I will recommend you a fundamental book to understand Open Source and, in general, software development. A true classic, from Eric Raymon, "The Chathedral & The Bazaar?.

This book is almost 20 years old, therefore you must translate it to today's environment, yes, its insights are as actual as they were twenty years ago.

https://www.amazon.com/Cathedral-Bazaar-Musings-Accidental-Revolutionary-ebook/dp/B0026OR3LM/ref=sr_1_1


Topic 5 - Agile - The new normal

There are many books about Agile, Scrum and Kanban, no doubt. The one of Kim, Behr and Spafford is a novel, but a novel that will help you to understand how modern software projects are managed.

https://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Project-DevOps-Helping-Business-ebook/dp/B078Y98RG8/ref=pd_sim_351_6/131-8735643-5843611


Topic 6 - Experimentation

Continuous experimentation is how companies evolve and innovate. Again, there are plenty of books on this topic and if you want to dig deeper, Google has a fantastic free course about it in Coursera.

I would like to recommend you two.

First the latest from Thomke, "Experimentation Works: The Surprising Power of Business Experiments?.

https://www.amazon.com/Experimentation-Works-Surprising-Business-Experiments-ebook/dp/B07N13NLZM/ref=sr_1_1

And secondly, that of Luca and Bazerman, "The Power of Experiments: Decision Making in a Data-Driven World?.

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Experiments-Decision-Making-Data-Driven-ebook/dp/B08BSYNLLM/ref=pd_sim_351_1/131-8735643-5843611


Topic 7 - The AI Factory

This is again a book to write but let me take the opportunity to recommend you two books on AI that made waves in the last years.

First a book from Stuart Russell. Stuart Russell is the author of one of the most famous textbooks on A.I., one that many of us studied. In "Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control? he will give you a perspective of A.I. from one of the top A.I. scientist along with a look at the history of the field.

If you are new to the field, you must read it!
https://www.amazon.com/Human-Compatible-Artificial-Intelligence-Problem-ebook/dp/B07N5J5FTS/ref=sr_1_1

My second recommendation is a book that sees A.I. from the Business perspective and has been extremely popular in management giving you the economic and managerial perspective of A.I. .

This is a book that I disagree with but it will help you to reflect on what intelligence is and what do we try to do when we try to create intelligent programs.

It's Agrwal, Gans and Golfarb book "Prediction Machines?.
https://www.amazon.com/Prediction-Machines-Economics-Artificial-Intelligence-ebook/dp/B075GXJPFS/ref=msx_wsirn_v1_8


Topic 8 - The secret sauce: Cloud Platforms

This is again a book that needs to be written. You will find scattered pieces in all the above books, but not a comprehensive compilation, not even in AWS whitepapers.
You will need to wait for the session for this topic!


?
Blogs
Data Elixir - https://dataelixir.com/
O'Reilly Data Newsletter - http://www.oreilly.com/data/newsletter.html
Towards Data Science - https://towardsdatascience.com/


Podcasts
Podcasts are one of the best ways to stay up-to-date in the hectic world of AI. Podcasts also have the advantage that you can listen to them on any occasion, for example I listen to them in the gym.

First consider our DoBetter platform. DoBetter isn't just about A.I. but you will find more A.I. than you expected, especially on podcasts.

https://dobetter.esade.edu/en

If I have to nominate a favorite podcast, this is Lex Fridman. It's not an easy one, but it's worth every second.

https://lexfridman.com/podcast/

Andreessen Horowitz is the best well known V.C. in Silicon Valley, it's a legend.
Their podcast is certainly one of the most enlightening that you can find.

https://a16z.com/

O'Reilly is another legend of the Valley.
It's a podcast done by Ben Lorica, it's great!

https://www.oreilly.com/radar/topics/oreilly-data-show-podcast/


Software Engineering Daily is another podcast that you cannot miss.
The curator is again Ben Lorica.

https://softwareengineeringdaily.com/

Group	Teacher	Department
Year 1	Esteve Almirall Mezquita	Operaciones, Innovación y Data Sciences