Lessons from history's greatest R&D labs
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Re: Lessons from history's greatest R&D labs
#2As some of you probably know, I spent a number of years working with GE, which included plenty of time at the legendary GE Research lab in Niskayuna. So it was a special thrill to see this piece connecting Answer.AI to the long history of R&D labs. Our ideas about R&D are kind of out of fashion in our current age, but I hope this says more about the age than it does about the quality of the ideas. Happy to answer questions in this thread, if there are any fellow R&D-lab-enjoyers here.
Re: Lessons from history's greatest R&D labs
#3Jeremy from Answer.AI here -- Answer.AI is, to some extent, the subject of this article. Perhaps worth noting here that we didn't pay the author, Eric Gilliam; it's his independent analysis based on years of study of 19th & 20th century R&D labs.
I'm hoping that not only will Answer.AI be successful, but that Eric's words in the conclusion will come to pass:
> "If their USD10 million experiment works, it has the chance to spark a rush of emboldened researchers and engineers to found small research firms, leveraging the models of the once-great dragons of American industrial R&D."
I'm happy to answer any questions you have about our experiment, and my co-founder Eric Ries (@eries) is around too. (Note that there are 2 Erics mentioned here -- that can get confusing!) By way of background, Eric Ries is the creator of the "Lean Startup", coined the term "Minimal Viable Product", and created the Long Term Stock Exchange, and I'm the co-founder of fast.ai, Enlitic, Kaggle, FastMail, and Optimal Decisions Group.
Re: Lessons from history's greatest R&D labs
#4“At first sight, when one comes upon it in its surprisingly rural setting, the Bell Telephone Laboratories’ main New Jersey site looks like a large and up-to-date factory, which in a sense it is. But it is a factory for ideas, and so its production lines are invisible.” — Arthur C. Clarke, science fiction writer, in his 1958 book, Voice Across the Sea.
Re: Lessons from history's greatest R&D labs
#5As some of you probably know, I spent a number of years working with GE, which included plenty of time at the legendary GE Research lab in Niskayuna. So it was a special thrill to see this piece connecting Answer.AI to the long history of R&D labs. Our ideas about R&D are kind of out of fashion in our current age, but I hope this says more about the age than it does about the quality of the ideas. Happy to answer que…
What was an average workday like?
Re: Lessons from history's greatest R&D labs
#6Jeremy from Answer.AI here -- Answer.AI is, to some extent, the subject of this article. Perhaps worth noting here that we didn't pay the author, Eric Gilliam; it's his independent analysis based on years of study of 19th & 20th century R&D labs. I'm hoping that not only will Answer.AI be successful, but that Eric's words in the conclusion will come to pass: > "If their USD10 million experiment works, it has the chan…
Awesome! What sorts of products is your lab working on?
Re: Lessons from history's greatest R&D labs
#7Jeremy from Answer.AI here -- Answer.AI is, to some extent, the subject of this article. Perhaps worth noting here that we didn't pay the author, Eric Gilliam; it's his independent analysis based on years of study of 19th & 20th century R&D labs. I'm hoping that not only will Answer.AI be successful, but that Eric's words in the conclusion will come to pass: > "If their USD10 million experiment works, it has the chan…
How are you thinking about the role of patenting at Answer.AI? How about handling tech transfer issues with universities?
Re: Lessons from history's greatest R&D labs
#8As some of you probably know, I spent a number of years working with GE, which included plenty of time at the legendary GE Research lab in Niskayuna. So it was a special thrill to see this piece connecting Answer.AI to the long history of R&D labs. Our ideas about R&D are kind of out of fashion in our current age, but I hope this says more about the age than it does about the quality of the ideas. Happy to answer que…
I'm not sure who's better positioned to answer, you or Jeremy and I asked him already:
How are you thinking about the role of patenting at Answer.AI? How about handling tech transfer issues with universities?
Re: Lessons from history's greatest R&D labs
#9As some of you probably know, I spent a number of years working with GE, which included plenty of time at the legendary GE Research lab in Niskayuna. So it was a special thrill to see this piece connecting Answer.AI to the long history of R&D labs. Our ideas about R&D are kind of out of fashion in our current age, but I hope this says more about the age than it does about the quality of the ideas. Happy to answer que…
So what are some of the early projects you'll explore?
Appreciate your writing by the way!
Re: Lessons from history's greatest R&D labs
#10Jeremy from Answer.AI here -- Answer.AI is, to some extent, the subject of this article. Perhaps worth noting here that we didn't pay the author, Eric Gilliam; it's his independent analysis based on years of study of 19th & 20th century R&D labs. I'm hoping that not only will Answer.AI be successful, but that Eric's words in the conclusion will come to pass: > "If their USD10 million experiment works, it has the chan…
Jeremy, you've taken a bold, open initiative. Thank you for calling on all the small, innovative teams. To better understand the types of projects or applications that excite you and Eric most, could you share examples of companies or applications that Answer.AI currently supports or plants to invest in? Additionally, if yo u have any published articles detailing these ventures please share the link. Best wishes with your venture.