| |||||||
Application Keynote Lecture
Richard Elis (RKE Consulting)
The AI Was Never The Hard Part!
AbstractDrawing on his roots as a practical engineer, a grounding in systems thinking and his experience from a career in technical consultancy, Richard's address considers what has changed in the AI world over the last 30 years, and how that has impacted the practical challenges in implementing AI based systems. Richard argues that many aspects are unchanged. Both then and today, building a working AI-based system relies on much more getting the AI right, and that integration, trust, governance, and people still decide most outcomes. AI fads come and go, with the public perception focused on the latest technology (today LLMs and chatbots, ten years ago neural networks and deep learning), while behind the scenes the AI world itself advances more steadily across a broad front of technical developments, many of which lie behind successful practical applications. This mismatch in perceptions creates conflicts of expectation, which themselves bring further challenges to effective delivery of AI based capabilities. Richard Ellis is the founder of RKE Consulting, a technical consultancy built on a long career in AI, research, and defence acquisition, working with a wide range of government and commercial clients. Throughout this time, he has maintained a particular interest in the practical application of AI, including the technical and non-technical integration and management challenges that determine whether a system actually delivers. He has been involved with SGAI and its annual conferences for over thirty years, both on the committee and as Application Chair. Richard is currently working on the use of AI in military command and control (C2).
| |||||||
