Hersh Patel

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Great job explaining how the military is using additive manufacturing! The question of security is an interesting one. Information compromise is a security threat the military has always dealt with, but the introduction of additive manufacturing presents another vector for attack in the physical world. By implanting a flaw in the production process, adversaries could cause critical pieces of machinery to malfunction. Controls must be in place at every level of the supply chain, from the acquisition of raw materials to the additive manufacturing machinery to the final product.

It does seem like people are very focused on this issue. Dr. Mark Yampolskiy at the University of South Alabama is working on “side-channels”, where acoustic emanations from a printer can be used to detect deviations in output. [1]

[1] https://www.southalabama.edu/departments/publicrelations/pressreleases/110218printing.html

On November 15, 2018, Anonymous1234 commented on Grupo Aval: Utilizing open innovation to build a new business model :

Great piece! While I think the open innovation to source ideas from the customers is very valuable, I am concerned about how implementable any of the ideas will be. While I am not familiar with Grupo Aval’s technical infrastructure, most banks that were founded before 2000 are on very old core banking systems. These systems make it difficult to integrate with new applications (even with API layers). This is why many banks have failed to adopt an effective mobile platform. I suspect that the majority of the ideas that customers have, while great in theory, will be difficult to implement. However, I do think having open innovation coming from the employee base, who understand the limitations of the company’s technology infrastructure, could be very beneficial for the company.

This is a very interesting article. Not only does the additive manufacturing result in a better consumer product, it also has the potential to reduce inventory, distribution, and real estate costs for Adidas. Instead of having to carry a whole line of different sizes, ship them to distributors, and potentially shelve them in their own stores, shoes can be made-to-order and inventory can be just-in-time. This could have a huge impact on Adidas’ cash flow. I think this needs to be considered as they think about how they price their 3D-printed products, which could make it more affordable to a larger population.

This is a very fascinating and elucidating article. In order for Alexa to compete with its competitors, it needs to shift more of its focus to the internet of things and capture the connectivity devices in the home, at work, and in the car. This is where voice recognition will be most valuable in the next 5 years – being able to turn on lights and appliance or play music in a car. By partnering with IoT companies, it can capture this market as the voice recognition industry shifts from early adopters to the early majority. Unfortunately, Google already has a head start here with their acquisition of Nest in 2014.

On November 15, 2018, Anonymous1234 commented on Spotify: Music Discovery in a World of Discover Weekly :

This is a very interesting question regarding gender biases. This is an issue that has plagued the music industry for a long time, and as Farrah mentioned, it does need to start at the top of the funnel with the industry giving more opportunities to women at a young age. However, I think Spotify has the opportunity to take a strong social stance on this topic by altering its algorithm to balance the gender ratio. While this may have an impact on customer satisfaction in the short term, this would be a long term move that is likely in line with the values of Spotify’s younger demographic and the trend towards more female artists. Especially as other players in the space commoditize the provision of music, building a brand that resonates with consumers is crucial.

This is a fascinating article. It’s clear there’s a clear application to use this machine learning technology to predict business results from the weather, especially in retail, agriculture, and insurance, as you pointed out. However, I think this technology has much broader applications to everyday life. The weather impacts how we commute, what we wear, what we eat, what we do for entertainment, and even what music we listen to. With the advent of more and more consumer data in an increasingly digital world (e.g. phone usage, wearables, online purchasing), I think the consumer applications of this could be just as impactful as the business applications.