HR Happy Hour 319 - Understanding Artificial Intelligence for Business and HR

Sponsored by Virgin Pulse - www.virginpulse.com

Host: Steve Boese

Guest: Joshua Gans, University of Toronto

This week on the HR Happy Hour Show, Steve is joined by Joshua Gans, Professor of Strategic Management at the University of Toronto, and co-author of the new book, Prediction Machines: The Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence.

On the show, Joshua gives his easy to grasp definition of Artificial Intelligence, how AI is really about lowering the costs of and increasing the availability and ability to create more predictions about outcomes. These outcomes could be about predicting tomorrow's weather, teaching a self-driving car how to react to changing conditions, or even helping HR and Talent leaders predict who might be the best candidate for a job, or who might be a better fit on the team.

Joshua breaks down how HR and business leaders should think about AI, how and where to see and understand its impact on business, the need for human judgment, and how to assess and be aware of the hidden dangers and potential biases in AI technology. This was the most lively and engaging (and accessible) conversation about AI I have ever had, and I think any HR or business leader will appreciate the easy, casual way Joshua explains complex topics.

We also talked 'War Games', (the movie), Moneyball, the pain of teaching a teenager how to drive.

Thanks to Joshua for joining us!

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