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You probably don't need AI/ML. You can make do with well written SQL scripts

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Re: You probably don't need AI/ML. You can make do with well written SQL scripts

#301

Post by gowld »

chongli wrote: post #293
EGreg wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not sure the Categorical Imperative rules out misleading people for their own good. If a win win result is highly likely the categorical imperative says it’s OK if you do it because if the whole world did it, things would become better!

No, it's still using people as a means to an end. It's even wrong to lie to the murderer at the door. Kant himself addressed this in an essay titled: On The Supposed Right To Lie From Altruistic Motives [1]. [1] https://www.unc.edu/courses/2009spring/plcy/240/001/Kant.pdf

Being Kantian doesn't mean being correct. It's not that hard to disagree with Kant's extreme hypothetical.

Re: You probably don't need AI/ML. You can make do with well written SQL scripts

#302

Post by gowld »

vazamb wrote: post #250
adaml_623 wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll bet they found they got 10 times more applicants for a data scientist role as opposed to a dba/sql/data engineer.

But what's to point? You will get a lot of applicants from non-cs backgrounds. Not only will they be unprepared for the job but also most likely very unhappy with their tasks.

The point is that you can get paid more by calling yourself a data scientist than a DBA, at the moment.

Re: You probably don't need AI/ML. You can make do with well written SQL scripts

#303

Post by JetSpiegel »

freehunter wrote: post #289
kahnjw wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with all of this, except are you really implementing bayesian models in SQL? I'm not sure that is what the author is advocating in the first place. There are tools for bayesian everything, I much prefer using those over hacking together some illegible SQL script.

No, it’s just SQL statements pulling data into the if...then in your preferred language. I’ve never done actual logic with SQL, not even sure if it’s possible.

Each DB engine has it's own incompatible imperative stored procedure language.

Having worked with Oracle's version, and seen entire systems buult out of that, I dread it.

Re: You probably don't need AI/ML. You can make do with well written SQL scripts

#304

Post by smcl »

yawaramin wrote: post #283
smcl wrote: post #115

"Set this as a CRON that fires at 2AM everyday, period with less activity and traffic. People wake up to emails reminding them about their abandoned carts" Hah I wondered why I got so many notifications in the middle of the night. Now I know that it's from people who think they're helping - not realising that it actually sours my opinion on their company/product.

You get a notification beep from emails? How about just turning that off? If anyone really needs to reach you they can just call you, no?

I get a vibrate notification. And you are right that there are steps I can take to stop this if this became truly disruptive. However it is a mere annoyance, but annoying enough that I think "seriously, fuck off!" if it happens which presumably is NOT the sort of engagement they are looking for :-)

Re: You probably don't need AI/ML. You can make do with well written SQL scripts

#305

Post by brootstrap »

smsm42 wrote: post #43

But if you say "I'm going to use a bunch of shell scripts to parse logs" you are boring. If you say "I am going to use groundbreaking ML/AI technologies to transform big data into customer retention solutions", you are a visionary.

providing insights to your log data faster then ever before with machine learning big data

Re: You probably don't need AI/ML. You can make do with well written SQL scripts

#306

Post by CodeWriter23 »

ak39 wrote: post #171
CodeWriter23 wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bounced as soon as I couldn’t find pricing information.

I have nothing to do with the website/product in question, but could you explain a bit more why you would "bounce" (assuming bounce means you would lose interest) if you didn't immediately see pricing information?

Two reasons. First, the tech spoke for itself and I was sold, if I could afford it. Don’t insert the friction of having to exchange an email and suck my information out of me to find out the cost. That goes against every theory and study about conversion, dating back to before the web. They have a saying, when you’ve made the sale, shut your fucking mouth. And as my example demonstrates, sales leak out of that funnel simply because people can’t be bothered.

Second, the other saying is if you have to ask how much it costs, you can’t afford it. So by concealing the price, the company is telling me the cost is too high and they know it. They are telegraphing that part of their sales process requires a salesperson to coerce the money out of me.

Re: You probably don't need AI/ML. You can make do with well written SQL scripts

#307

Post by digi_owl »

JepZ wrote: post #150
gnicholas wrote: post #40

My startup was approached by a corporate VC that wanted to make a strategic investment. Based on the attendee list from our meeting, which included very high up folks from the company, I felt good going in. They expressed interest in our technology that makes reading on screen easier [1], but they were surprised to learn that we didn't use machine learning to accomplish this. I indicated that it was actually quite ef…

That is just how larger corporations work. They probably decided they wanted to be part of that future market about AI and therefore want to invest in AI/ML startups. Someone sold your company internally as being a nice fit for the AI portfolio, but when you answered the question about ML with "No" the door was shut. From someone who makes large trade deals as his daily business, I learned "Never say 'No'" (during a…

How the stock market cargo cult works.

We have already seen this with things like offshoring.

A few big name companies did the numbers and found they could save some on moving their production somewhere else.

Then came a rush of companies that made big that they had offshored who knows what, simply because that was what the stock market expected of a would be forward looking company.

The basic problem is that these decisions are not done based on what is good for the company long term, but what is good for the stock price short term. And in large part because CEOs are paid in stock options, and can be ousted by activist stock owners.

Re: You probably don't need AI/ML. You can make do with well written SQL scripts

#308

Post by gnicholas »

CodeWriter23 wrote: post #306
ak39 wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have nothing to do with the website/product in question, but could you explain a bit more why you would "bounce" (assuming bounce means you would lose interest) if you didn't immediately see pricing information?

Two reasons. First, the tech spoke for itself and I was sold, if I could afford it. Don’t insert the friction of having to exchange an email and suck my information out of me to find out the cost. That goes against every theory and study about conversion, dating back to before the web. They have a saying, when you’ve made the sale, shut your fucking mouth. And as my example demonstrates, sales leak out of that funnel…

Interesting point about involving a salesperson — it came across that you would have to negotiate with a literal person before purchasing? I sort of always figure that it's just a matter of an upgrade notice that displays a price and that's that.

Also, note that we don't actually require (or even ask for) email addresses or anything personal when you install the browser plugin. You just click install, try it for 2 weeks, and then buy if you want. The standard pricing is $2/mo, with a discount for annual purchase.

I totally appreciate the feedback and will see how we can better communicate our pricing to alleviate concerns like this.

Re: You probably don't need AI/ML. You can make do with well written SQL scripts

#309

Post by logfromblammo »

adriand wrote: post #170
JepZ wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is just how larger corporations work. They probably decided they wanted to be part of that future market about AI and therefore want to invest in AI/ML startups. Someone sold your company internally as being a nice fit for the AI portfolio, but when you answered the question about ML with "No" the door was shut. From someone who makes large trade deals as his daily business, I learned "Never say 'No'" (during a…

You should never mislead a potential investor. Why would you want an investor who is misaligned with your core technology/strategic direction?

We wouldn't have this problem if civilization didn't continue to give so much money to the ID-10(t) class of investors.

Ideally, people that do nothing but tick off boxes in their mental buzzword checklists should not even be allowed to attend the pitches, and thereby waste other people's time by forcing them to hack around the unrepentant ignorance. But they that have the gold, make the rules.

Re: You probably don't need AI/ML. You can make do with well written SQL scripts

#310

Post by jimbokun »

giantsloth wrote: post #203
adriand wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should never mislead a potential investor. Why would you want an investor who is misaligned with your core technology/strategic direction?

This is a quaint sentiment, but marketing, sales, PR is all about misleading and creating unnecessary want. This is a major tenant of running a business and living under capitalism. There is also a moral argument for doing what you need to do in order to survive the difficulties of the market in order to survive it and change it into something more akin to your honest attitude about it.

"There is also a moral argument for doing what you need to do in order to survive the difficulties of the market in order to survive it and change it into something more akin to your honest attitude about it."

There's really not, but it might make you feel better to think there is.

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