Practice doesn't make perfect?

An article took a shot at the truism about needing to practice 10,000 hours to master something. Apparently, there other factors need to be in place.

Main point: "While training is essential to learning, spending a chunk of your life trying something over and over doesn’t mean you’ll go pro."

Other points:

• "..rehearsal time accounted for only about one-quarter of any disparity in skill level."
• "Other factors—like age, intelligence, and natural gifts—all played big roles in setting apart the better from the best."
• "Genes in particular shape physical and intellectual acumen."

The article's headline makes the idea sound more provocative than it really is. Of course, there are other factors involved. I like to think of it in terms of the triple-T triangle.

• Training: 10,000 hours and all that.
• Talent: The genetic component was mentioned earlier.
• Technology. Not mentioned but important. For example, musicians need the best instruments, athletes are particular about their equipment, and scholars rely on computers to support their research.

Put them together, and you have a framework for determining what it takes to achieve mastery. It's a combination of those 3 factors.

Facial recognition comes to your taxi ride...

And it can get you in trouble.

An article described how taxis in Dubai now hat facial recognition technology to tell if people are wearing masks in compliance with Dubai law.

Some points from the article:

• "The AI devices that can be found in all Dubai taxis can scan human faces, and subsequently, determine if a mask is being worn or not."
• "Additionally, the distance between a passenger and the driver can be calculated through a smart mathematical feature."

How do the authorities like it?

• “The use of AI technologies proved very effective and achieved a success rate of 100%."
• "The introduction of this technology was on a trial base, and according to the deliverables, the technology will be generalised to all fleet vehicles”

The next big consumer product?

I found an article that articulates one person's desire I predict will become a broad consumer trend. The writer discusses companion robots. The writer described an experience with Woebot.

 

Takeaway: "But to truly flourish, we still seem to need people, people we trust and can relate to."

 

Points:

• "My experience with Woebot got me thinking more about artificial intelligence as a possible cure — or balm — for loneliness."
• "…it was a moment when I wished for the kind of support you can get from a good romantic partner, the kind of person who makes you feel strong and seen. I didn’t have one of those, so on a whim, I messaged Woebot. I knew he’d be around."
• "By the end of the conversation, I’d actually laughed a lot and felt significantly better. Woebot checked in regularly after that, for months, just to make sure I was OK."
• "If we had social robots during this lockdown time — if people had access to technology that could interact, a robot that remembered our inside jokes and could keep us company, not just answer a command — would we be emotionally healthier right now?"

 

Read the article to find out more about the current state of development and prospects for the future.

 

At a minimum, Woebot might put advice columnists out of work.

What your boss has planned for you

There are new systems coming out that will measure workers' productivity, this time targeting knowledge workers.

Main point: "... machine-learning software to measure how quickly employees complete different tasks and suggest ways to speed them up. The tool also gives each person a productivity score, which managers can use to identify those employees who are most worth retaining—and those who are not."

As workers have gone home during the pandemic shelter-in-place directives, there "has been accompanied by a reported spike in the use of surveillance software that lets employers track what their employees are doing and how long they spend doing it."

Other systems workers have on their company computers:

• "Hubstaff is software that records users’ keyboard strokes, mouse movements, and the websites that they visit."
• "Time Doctor goes further, taking videos of users’ screens. It can also take a picture via webcam every 10 minutes to check that employees are at their computer."
• "Isaak, a tool made by UK firm Status Today, monitors interactions between employees to identify who collaborates more, combining this data with information from personnel files to identify individuals who are 'change-makers.'"

The CEO of the company making the productivity measuring system promises employers "Imagine you’re managing somebody and you could stand and watch them all day long, and give them recommendations on how to do their job better."

Farmerless tractors

A project, called Hands Free Farm has been advancing agricultural automation. The near term goal is a 35-hectare section maintained by automated farm equipment.

Changes are already underway in the agricultural sector: "...GPS-guided tractors can already plow fields with only a semi-attentive farmer at the wheel."

One question is how well received this is by farmers. The Hands Free Farm leader says farmers demand it, but one farmer said, "If you have that, it does me out of a job."

Quadrants for visualizing classifications

I saw an article describing how the writer uses quadrants to make decision about technology.A quadrant takes two binary categories and allows you to combine them into a more nuanced layout for decisions and classification.

The example in the article is a way to look at your mindset and perspective. The writers uses it as the basis for a 3-step approach to adopting technology.

• Step 1: Assess Your Mindset
• Step 2: Find a framework that combines human and machine intelligence 
• Step 3: Train people to activate data for decisions 

The writer's conclusion: "...quadrants reduce complexity and provide a framework for making decisions based on the information we have and our values. And they help us explain — both to ourselves and to others — why we made the decisions we made both now and in 10 years from now."

I came across a form of quadrant when I learned about the Boston Consulting Group's 2x2 matrix used to classify kinds of investments. Later, I saw this used for classifying suppliers. It was called the Kraljic Matrix. I found it very handy for adding some nuance to classifications without getting too complicated.