What transformations are you driving at IBM?
I lead the AI Operations mission for IBM Watson. Our goal is to make IBM’s Watson AI services — our complex portfolio of various types of natural language recognition — scalable for enterprises around the world. For that to happen, Watson must learn to speak multiple languages, be customizable by our clients (using their own data), and be able to learn and improve itself continuously once in production. It’s an incredibly exciting mission as we blaze new pathways for AI in the enterprise.
These are still the early days of enterprise AI, and it’s our job to work alongside our clients and take this journey together. To do that, we have to institute methods, processes and best practices — and create tools and frameworks — that haven’t yet been articulated (or even outlined in some cases) in the AI space. I truly believe that our work is driving transformation not only for IBM, but also for our clients and the entire AI community.
What advice would you give aspiring IBM Fellows?
I joined IBM right after completing my master’s degree in computer science and used to walk past the IBM Fellows “wall of fame” on my way to the cafeteria in Yorktown. I’d look at the portraits and admire the accomplishments of these scientific stars, never dreaming that I could be a Fellow myself. Fast-forward to today, and it’s still surreal for me to think of myself as a Fellow. But looking back, I realize that there are many ways to make a technical or business impact at IBM.
You have to find your own way and scale the mountain ahead of you — one step at a time, one problem at a time, one project at a time, one goal at a time. But there’s no need to be intimidated. The key is to stay focused on the big picture and tackle problems using your own unique strengths and talents. Focus on big problems that IBM needs to solve for its clients and get to work on them. If I can be here, anyone who sets their mind to it and works towards that goal can be here too!
“It’s an incredibly exciting mission as we blaze new pathways for AI in the enterprise.”
What is a client project you’re particularly proud of?
One of my first client projects in the early part of my career was with a paper mill. In those days, IBM used to build manufacturing solutions, and I was part of a team that developed production and transportation scheduling algorithms. As a newbie on the team, I was incredibly gratified to see that the algorithms that I had contributed to were controlling how reams of paper got produced on huge paper-making machines, how rolls of paper got cut on paper-cutting machines, how cut sheets of paper were packaged to be transported to different locations, and how the trucks got routed to reach various destinations.
The solutions we developed brought together iterative refinement algorithms from AI, and linear and integer programming from operations research fields to address complex, multi-objective optimization problems with numerous constraints. Our client was very pleased with the solutions we delivered, as they saved millions of dollars each year by reducing waste and improving on-time delivery for customer orders. To this day, I’m still proud to have been part of that project.
How do you like to spend your time outside of work?
I love to garden, and also to listen to and learn Carnatic classical music.