Oracle has produced a paper titled What Is Augmented Analytics? It was written by Alice LaPlante.
Alice suggests that augmented analytics is the latest way to think about data and analytics. She notes that it includes “embedding artificial intelligence , often in the form of machine learning and natural language processing, into traditional analytics”.
The definition of augmented analytics comprises two components:
Analytics as the process of identifying patterns in data.
Artificial intelligence as “the computer science practice of building automated systems that are able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence”.
Alice observes “When you embed machine learning and AI into analytics, you get augmented analytics”. Augmented analytics “automates the selection and preparation of data, the generation of insights, and the communication of those insights”.
Alice identified four of the chief benefits that businesses are deriving from augmented analytics:
* Make faster decisions
* Make better decisions
* Democratise data use within the organisation.
* Become a data-driven company.
Alice suggested that there were technical impediments and cultural impediments that slowed the adoption of augmented analytics. She noted the importance of data governance policies and practices in addressing these impediments. In doing so “organisations must understand how data is collected, how it is used, how it moves through the organisation, how it’s changed, and how it’s stored”.
What is interesting about Alice’s report is the combination of augmentation and analytics. One of the key issues for Sports Wizard® is the understanding the role of analytics as a human activity.
Our qualitative approach to analytics is informed by some of the early conversations about augmentation that were initiated by Douglas Englebart, amongst others. Back in 1962, he proposed that by “augmenting human intellect” we mean increasing the capability of comprehend and derive solutions (link). It is this comprehension where we see opportunities for augmented analytics. Joi Ito (2019) characterises this as extended intelligence. He recommends “We must question and adapt our own purpose and sensibilities as observers and designers within systems for a much more humble approach: humility over control” (link).
Postscript
The Clyde Street blog has a detailed discussion of intelligence augmentation (link)
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