Digital Fluency: Understanding the Basics of Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain Technology, Quantum Computing, and Their Applications for Digital Transformation

ISBN-13: 9781484267738 / Angielski / Miękka / 2021 / 303 str.

Volker Lang

Spis treści

Preface

1 Digitalization & Digital Transformation

1.1 Historical Business Transformations

1.2 Innovation & Disruption Theory

1.3 The Digital Ecosystem

1.3.1 Major Driving Forces

1.3.2 Digital Transformation Strategy

1.3.3 The Role of Qubits, Blocks and Neurons

1.3.4 Innovation Models of Google, Amazon & Co.

1.4 Classical Data Processing

1.4.1 The Digital Code

1.4.2 Principles of Operation

1.4.3 Computers & Other Digital Devices

References

2 Quantum Computing

2.1 Setting the Quantum Computing Scene

2.2 The Strange World of Quantum Computing

2.2.1 Spooky Quantum Reality

2.2.2 How Quantum Computers Operate

2.2.3 The Fussy Search after the Perfect Qubit

2.3 Quantum Computers Today

2.3.1 Current Business Applications

2.3.2 Commercially Available Systems

2.3.3 Next Challenges

2.4 Summary & Implementation Framework

References

3 Blockchain Technology

3.1 Setting the Blockchain Scene

3.1.1 The Role of Transactions & Money in History

3.1.2 Basic Functions of Money in Society

3.2 Blockchain Fundamentals

3.2.1 Decentralization and the Arrival of Trust

3.2.2 The Immutable Data Structure

3.2.3 Digital Value Transfer

3.2.4 The Authorization of Transactions by Digital Signatures

3.2.5 Deploying Trust by Consensus and Mining

3.2.6 Smart Business Contracts

3.3 Blockchain Technology Today

3.3.1 Implementation Challenges for Enterprises

3.3.2 Current Business Applications

3.3.3 Further Use Cases

3.4 Summary & Implementation Framework

References

4 Artificial Intelligence

4.1 Setting the Artificial Intelligence Scene

4.1.1 The Symbiosis of Neurobiology & Information Theory

4.1.2 The Conference that Started it All

4.1.3 IBM’s Legendary Projects DeepBlue & Watson

4.2 Central Ideas behind Artificial Intelligence

4.2.1 The Cost Function

4.2.2 Minimization of the Cost Function

4.3 The Five Categories of Learning

4.3.1 Supervised Learning

4.3.2 Unsupervised Learning

4.3.3 Deep Learning

4.3.4 Ensemble Methods

4.3.5 Reinforcement Learning

4.4 Top Use Cases and Business Applications

4.4.1 Computer Vision

4.4.2 Healthcare

4.4.3 Natural Language Processing

4.4.4 Energy Efficiency

4.4.5 Drug Discovery

4.4.6 Financial Services & Insurance

4.5 Summary & Implementation Framework

References

5 Your Digital Action Plan

5.1 Envision a Digital Business & Operating Model

5.2 Select the Right Technology Stack

5.3 Digitize the Core

5.4 Identify Pilot Projects

5.5 Empower Employees

5.6 Shape the Organization & Structure

5.7 Establish an Open Innovation Culture

5.8 Leverage the Ecosystem

References

Glossary

O autorze

Dr. Volker Lang is an experienced digitalization expert with profound expertise and great enthusiasm for quantum computing, blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, and their applications for digital transformation. As a senior project manager and former management and strategy consultant working with Volkswagen Group, he has been leading various large-scale business transformations with focus on electrification, digitalization, and other future trends.

Volker is a trained quantum physicist, holds a doctorate from Oxford University and diploma in physics and nanotechnology from Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich. He has attended the Oxford Blockchain Strategy Program at Saïd Business School and Disruptive Strategy at Harvard Business School, as well as the well-known machine learning program at Stanford University among other interdisciplinary training for business executives. His achievements were recognized by prestigious scholarships and international prizes, such as by Trinity College Oxford, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the German Physical Society, and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.

You can reach Volker on LinkedIn (dr-volker-lang) and at his digital innovation consulting services (DInnovators).

Blurb

If you are curious about the basics of artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, and quantum computing as key enablers for digital transformation, Digital Fluency is your handy guide. The real-world applications of these cutting-edge technologies are expanding rapidly, and your daily life will continue to be affected by each of them. There is no better time than now to get started and become digitally fluent.

You need not have previous knowledge of these technologies, as author Volker Lang will expertly guide you through this digital age. He illustrates key concepts and applications in numerous examples and figures throughout Digital Fluency, and the end of each chapter presents you with a helpful implementation checklist of central lessons before proceeding to the next. This book gets to the heart of digital buzzwords and concepts, and tells you what they truly mean.

Breaking down topics such as AI-powered automated driving, blockchain-based cryptocurrencies, quantum optimization of urban traffic, and more is imperative to being ready for what the future of industry holds. Whether your own digital transformation journey takes place within your organization, your studies, or your individual household, Digital Fluency maps out a concrete digital action plan for all of your technology and strategy needs.