Machine learning is a powerful technology that allows computers to use data in new ways to provide an understanding and prediction of people or events. The benefits of machine learning are immense, but there’s a hidden dark side. People are coming to realize that companies and computers know an awful lot about them, enough to make them very nervous. Managing these concerns will be a big part of machine learning and other Big Data technologies going forward.

To shed some light on what this means to business and customers, Jeff Frick, cohost of theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, talked with Hilary Mason, founder and CEO of Fast Forward Labs, at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing 2015 conference.

Promoting an awareness about machine learning

The conversation started with a look at Fast Forward Labs and what it does. Mason replied that the company’s goal is to make clients smarter about their data and data science capabilities. This also involved educating people about the social implications of these technologies that might come up when a company deploys them. “Machine learning is not magic,” Mason said.

Thinking through these social concerns starts at the very beginning of the design process. How will people see the product in a few years as compared to now? Mason gave the example of Sony’s AIBO robot dog. While very popular in its time, eventually Sony discontinued support. Without repairs, the little robot dogs began to break down and their owners treated these malfunctions as real deaths, complete with funerals. Obviously, this was not a planned customer experience.

New advances fuel new technologies

The discussion then turned toward new tools and technologies. Mason explained that powerful technologies are becoming easier to use, enabling new capability for teams and companies. As the barriers to entry go down, she said, developers are playing with these technologies to see how they can improve the product. This also applies to data. Information that wasn’t usable before can now be prepared and put to work.

Watch the full video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of Grace Hopper Celebration of Woman In Computing. And join in on the conversation by CrowdChatting with theCUBE hosts.

Photo by SiliconANGLE