Companies are collecting a lot of data. Much of that data can live behind the scenes, but anything people-facing has to make sense to humans. It also has to be helpful, and fast. That’s the job of emerging artificial intelligence processes. Done right, this AI tech can empower people in what they do every day.

“It’s about augmenting folks, helping people do things,” said Jack Berkowitz (pictured), vice president of products and data science, adaptive intelligence, at Oracle Corp.

Berkowitz spoke to John Furrier (@furrier) and Peter Burris (@plburris), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s mobile live-streaming studio, during this week’s Oracle Modern Marketing Experience show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Berkowitz talked about Oracle’s plans toward future AI experiences. (*Disclosure below.)

Improving people, not replacing them

Effective AI systems run on data, and Oracle has put together an impressive collection of consumer data. Adding to this is its business data, which is used to create context for the AI. These information streams come together to build a system that amplifies the user’s capabilities.

“We’re working on building a truly adaptive experience for people,” Berkowitz said.

It’s not about replacing people, he explained. People are creative and great at problem solving, two areas where AI lags behind for now. Instead, the AI can free people from common and dull tasks so they can do more important things.

Collecting this much data does lead to privacy concerns, however. While there are mechanical systems that help protect privacy and restrict what data is collected, the real goal is to do things in a way that’s not creepy, Berkowitz stated. No one wants a digital stalker. Also, people are happier to give their data when they see some immediate benefit from it.

The key to success with this augmenting AI is building a system that’s adaptive. Being adaptive means the system can adjust to the moment and not spit out the same answer over and over. The system must adapt to context and pick up on more context as its given, Berkowitz added. The data, context and, ultimately, the user experience are all connected.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s independent editorial coverage of Oracle’s Modern Marketing Experience. (*Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner at Oracle’s Modern Marketing Experience. The conference sponsor, Oracle, does not have editorial oversight of content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE