Reinventing Imagination in Artificial Intelligence: AI.io

“We also understand that AI is not just about human automation – just the opposite. AI is about a collaboration of humans, and machines so that each one can operate at their best.”

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the biggest topic circling the world right now. The effects of AI are seen in every business, every industry, in every economy around the world. Driven both by opportunity, and a fear of losing competitive advantage, businesses have announced AI-focused initiatives. The results are a booming market opportunity that is expected to grow from $1.8 billion in 2016 to $59.25 billion by 2025. Some estimates have it twice that amount.

Founded in 2016, and headquartered in New York City, AI.io Incorporated is an artificial intelligence data science, and engineering company. Ai.Io has created an advanced neural network, known as PLATO (Perceptive-Learning-Artificial intelligence-Technology-Operating platform), that is powering apps in consumer, enterprise, and government use cases for machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing, computer vision, machine reasoning, and cognitive AI. AI.io is right in the middle of the market opportunity, creating, deploying, and implementing AI use cases across industry verticals that solve real business, and market problems by leveraging the awesome computing power of PLATO.

AI.io: Creating Great Innovation for a Wondrous Future

AI.io was funded by its parent company Moonshot N.A., to build a cognitive, neural network that would propel advances in productivity, social interaction, and communication profoundly changing the nature of work, and how people live their lives in ways they could only have imagined.

Moonshot is a leading, cutting edge digital transformation company that is helping the enterprise do things that make what they already do better. Moonshot is transforming nearly every aspect of the enterprise by providing strategic digital, AI, and mobile technologies that create amazing experiences, ignite conversation, activate communities, inform customers, and influence key decision makers within industry.

With Moonshot’s investment in AI.io, it is creating a very exciting road ahead with a new class of AI; one that is explainable, and that builds trust by providing evidence; AI that can help manage bias, safe interruptability, and cognition at scale that allows for extreme personalization and ultimately leads to a better customer experience, better decision making, and increased revenue growth. The company is helping businesses leverage AI as a strategic capability to augment, and amplify human, and process intelligence. Doing so requires a careful balancing act; one of technology, data, processes, and skills all looked through and implemented through an industry, and process lens.

Let’s Start the Ball Rolling With, Terence Mills, CEO, and Founder:

Can you brief us on your first product launch?

The first product launched was AI.io’s PLATO, a neural network with the ability to process data at scale, as well as host apps that leverage its computing power in order to solve specific business objectives within consumer, enterprise, and government use cases. PLATO is not black box AI technology. Conversely, the AI apps that are developed for specific use cases to leverage the computing power of PLATO are capable of delivering unique insights that are explainable, accountable, manage bias, and are not destructive. These unique insights improve decision making, often leading to increased revenues.

Was the launch successful?  What is the follow-up plan?

The rollout has been a great success. Along with PLATO, we chose two initial apps to build that would leverage the computing power of PLATO. Broadway Insights will change future work in the theatre industry (Broadway, London’s West End) by uncovering unique insights about ticket buyers including, who they are, where they are located, what types of shows they like to see, and also the marketing they respond to. These insights will lead to new sources of revenue. Broadway Insights will be in beta in July 2018.

Furthermore, in partnership with Samsung Smart Things, AI.io will be introducing Halo, an AI digital concierge, providing tenants in rental properties with convenient services from booking travel, to purchasing event tickets, to sending out dry cleaning, to hailing a car, to ordering food. Halo is device agnostic, and can be activated in any room in the apartment. Halo even controls the smart home including, appliances, lights, and temperature. There is no expense to the tenant, and everything just works when they move in.

Embracing AI in enterprises has been lower than expected. How does AI.io overcome this?

AI is largely misunderstood. It has become clear that businesses lack an understanding of which business problems to solve using Enterprise AI within their industry. They also lack the tooling, skills, and methods required to build, deploy, and manage AI systems at scale as well as they also are without access to high-value data, models, and algorithms suitable for their industry and process domains. Enterprise risk, and compliance officers will not accept AI that is not explainable, makes important decisions without accountability, or worse is destructive. However, 99+% of AI startups operate AI as a black box and have little to no hope of businesses taking their science projects into production. AI.io is delivering a new class of AI with capabilities that include AI that is explainable, and allows for extreme personalization which ultimately leads to a better customer experience, better decision making, and increased revenue growth.

What were the impediments you encountered?

AI.io had a specific set of business goals when it was launched by Moonshot. The greatest challenge that the company faced when executing its business plan was focus; given all the frenzy surrounding AI. The management team felt very confident with its business plan, and today, it is seeing that this plan was indeed the right one. That did not lessen the intensity required by management to stay focused. The other challenge was about ensuring that we could deliver the technology in the way we intended. Since AI.io’s business plan is focused on a new class of AI, the challenge was to make sure we could build the technology matched with the business plan objectives.

What is the roadmap ahead for AI.io?

The goals for AI.io are clear. We expect the company to become a market leader in Enterprise AI. It is also expected that the company will build on its influencer, and education strategy. It is one thing to talk about AI. It is another thing to build it, and be directly involved in the day to day technology challenges. The company plans to bring a first-hand perspective to an AI education platform – giving back to the industry on a global scale, while also helping companies reach their maximum potential.

Greet the Trailblazer

Terence Mills, CEO, and Founder: Entrepreneur, marketer, AI pioneer and digital technology specialist, Terence Mills has built eight global enterprises including executive management participation in two public companies, InteliData Technologies and SkyTel Corporation which sold to MCI for $1.8 billion. His ability to harness the power of the internet, AI, and mobile technology to support sound business goals is his secret weapon. At Moonshot, a leading cutting edge digital transformation technology company, Terence serves as CEO. Moonshot is helping the enterprise do things that they already do better.

Each morning, Terence gets excited by the thought of helping clients transform their businesses by bridging the gap of AI, Big data, and mobile to determine where they converge. As an AI influencer, thought leader, member of the Forbes Technology Council, a contributing writer for Forbes.com, and keynote speaker, Terence is educating enterprises, and industry about artificial intelligence –evangelizing the need for a new class of AI that is explainable, accountable, manages bias, and is not destructive.

“We are laser-focused on delivering a class of AI that disrupts industries, creates growth within the enterprises by introducing new revenue opportunities, and improves decision making by putting unique insights into the hands of employees.”