From High School Suspension to US Chief Data Scientist | DJ Patil

Software Misadventures

Known for coining the term “Data Scientist”, DJ is a renowned technologist with a diverse background spanning academia, industry, and government. Having led product teams at companies like RelateIQ and LinkedIn, DJ was appointed by President Obama to be the first U.S. Chief Data Scientist where his efforts led to the establishment of nearly 40 Chief Data Officer roles across the Federal government, new health care programs as well as new criminal justice reforms. We discuss:

• “Dream in years, plan in months, evaluate in weeks, ship daily”

• High school misadventures that shaped DJ’s world view

• Under-hyped opportunities in AI

• Building with the customer vs. “if you build it, they will come”

• Do we need more regulations on AI?

• Much more.

Segments:

[0:01:48] Picking locks in high school.

[0:07:15] How can we make it easier for others to take a risk on us?

[0:11:29] How do you decide whom to take a chance on?

[0:14:24] The 70-20-10 framework for choosing what to work on.

[0:17:49] "No rules, only guidelines."

[0:24:09] Developing personal ethics.

[0:30:52] Building with the customer versus "if you build it, they will come."

[0:34:51] "Dream in years, plan in months, evaluate in weeks, ship daily."

[0:43:56] Ideas should be considered in terms of momentum.

[0:46:11] Under-hyped trends in AI?

[0:51:53] How does AI need to evolve to operate in fields that require very low margins of error?

[0:56:09] Concerning advances that lack sufficient guardrails?

[0:58:55] Do we need more regulations on AI?

[1:02:48] "Failure is the only option."

Show Notes:

• DJ Patil on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dpatil/

• The card that DJ carried in his notebook: https://twitter.com/DJ44/status/819316928623902720

• DJ’s interview series with thought leaders in Data Science: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/data-impact-with-dj-patil/data-science-how-did-we-get-here

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