
Magical thinking about machine learning won’t bring the reality of AI any closer - majikarp
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/05/magical-thinking-about-machine-learning-will-not-bring-artificial-intelligence-any-closer
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hodgesrm
> To many corporate executives, a machine that can learn more about their
> customers than they ever knew seems magical. Think, for example, of the
> moment Walmart discovered that among the things their US customers stocked
> up on before a hurricane warning – apart from the usual stuff – were beer
> and strawberry Pop-Tarts!

That sounds like a SQL query, especially since it dates from 2004. I doubt the
execs found it very magical. Walmart has invested deeply in analytics for
decades. They are very competent at it.

