There’s a human in my data

It’s easy to forget, but data is, we believe, all about people.

People like Elina Scorey, Chief Business Development Officer at distil.ai/ and unashamed fan girl of A.I.-driven data analytics. And it’s her data evangelism that makes Elina the perfect person to kick off our new blog series ‘There’s a human in my data’, in which the distil.ai/ team (plus a few Special Mystery Guests) tell the human stories behind all those ones and zeros. In this instalment, Elina reveals the 5 reasons she’s so passionate about data.

Data unites logic and creativity

We like to think of logic and creativity as two very separate things. Opposites, almost.

On the one hand you have logic: the science with which we organise the world. Rigid, formulaic, reasoned.

So far so ‘meh’, right? Don’t worry, we’re getting to the sexy bit.

Then there’s creativity: a spark, an inspiration, an unlocking of imagination that lets us solve problems in as-yet-unthought-of ways.

One wants to go to Vegas. The other wants to go to Stockholm. One has a savings account. The other has affairs. Or, at least, that’s how we’ve learnt to see them.

But data disagrees. Without a bit of both, data is just a spreadsheet doing a whole lot of nothing.

To turn into something more, data needs to be harnessed in ways that are both logical and creative. Logical because they make sense, and creative because they step beyond predictability. It’s then, and only then, that data can start to give you an edge on your competitors.

Data is the perfect partner to artificial intelligence

Which is where A.I. comes in. It’s the bread to data’s butter. Because who wants to eat just butter? No one, that’s who. But bread and butter? I will have a slice please, thank you.

A.I. takes the essential spark of human insight – and make no mistake, that human spark is crucial – and ignites it into an intelligent self-generating force of logic-driven creativity, constantly discovering new ways to interpret and use all that juicy data.

Data is democratic

This combination: data and A.I., is powerful, and it’s up for grabs. Or at least that’s what we believe at distil.ai/. We’ve designed our tools for businesses of all shapes and at all stages of growth. Because whatever size a business, it’s competing against huge corporations with legions of developers, marketing departments the size of small island nations, and databases going back to the Neolithic era. It’s why A.I., working silently and tirelessly behind the scenes, can be an extraordinary way to unlock your data’s potential.

Data is the future

OK, go ahead and laugh at my very dramatic title, but it’s something I believe to be true. We’re only at the beginning of our collective data journey. I’ll bet when Edison first switched on the lightbulb, he didn’t see it leading to a computer, a smartphone, a Large Hadron Collider. Who knows where the union of A.I. and data could take us. What we know in the here and now is: when one is brought to bear on the other (please see above bread and butter metaphor) great things can happen. Together, they allow for experiment, accident, and discovery.

With data, giving is getting

But, bursting my own data dream bubble for a second, what does this mean for you? For me? For business?

Britain is still a nation of shopkeepers. It’s just that some of our shops are now apps. The next-best thing I can give a business, after my custom, is my data. And when it’s for a cause or service I like, I’m happy to share. Especially since by ‘share’ I mean ‘bumble  my way around the Internet as usual’.

Which all sounds very generous, but really it’s a win-win. Mix my one little data point into the great big delicious batter of All The Other Data, add a dash of A.I., and soon it’s part of something huge and hugely helpful for businesses. Which, ultimately, comes all the way back round to serve me more relevant content and, all in all, make my day online a bit less ‘Huh? What? But why?’ and a lot more ‘Aha – just what I needed!’

Bring your data to its happy place – get your distil.ai/ and leverage A.I. driven data analytics.