UPDATED 11:00 EDT / MARCH 20 2019

AI

Thanks for sharing: Should companies pool data for strong AI algorithms?

Does the future of accurate data analytics rest on companies learning to share? Selecting training data for algorithms raises tricky question about greater good versus competitive advantage. The market for advanced call-center software is a good place to work out the answers.

No company’s data should go into an algorithm without its express permission, Jonathan Rosenberg (pictured), chief technology officer and head of artificial intelligence at Five9 Inc. The call-center software company is continually experimenting with its data from 5 billion recorded conversations. It leaves the choice to pool or not to pool up to customers.

“Generally, it’s a give and get — you want access to the shared model, then you provide training data for it,” Rosenberg said. “If you don’t, you can use a custom one, but it won’t be as accurate.”

Five9 is doing cross-customer analytics with aggregated data from many sources. This type of analytics can tell customers things about themselves, their competitors, and their markets.

Rosenberg spoke with Lisa Martin (@LisaMartinTV) and Stu Miniman (@stu), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Enterprise Connect event in Kissimmee, Florida. They discussed AI in the enterprise and the benefits of cross-customer analytics (see the full interview with transcript here). (* Disclosure below.)

Cross-customer analytics map the market

Some cross-customer analytics are possible without giving up data to a common algorithm. Aggregating anonymized data can provide interesting insights, according to Rosenberg. “It would be interesting to know … this is my first-call resolution rate — how does that compare to similarly sized contact centers in my geography?” he asked.

One interesting benefit of call-center data is that the callers themselves generally agree to be recorded. “That’s one of the areas where, actually, there’s already a user expectation that my call is being recorded, that what I say can be used for training purposes,” Rosenberg stated.

This means that on the customer end, the data is readily exploitable and companies don’t hit any privacy snags.

Contrary to what some may think, AI algorithms for call centers aren’t meant to replace humans. Instead, they should diffuse knowledge and expertise to all call center reps, and keep calls short and sweet, Rosenberg explained.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Enterprise Connect event. (* Disclosure: Five9 Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Five9 nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE

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