AI Operations Without Fundamental Engineering Discipline // Nikhil Suresh // #250

Jul 23, 2024

Author Nikhil Suresh discusses the pitfalls of AI hype in companies, the importance of technical foundations for ML initiatives, challenges in AI implementation, managing expectations, financial awareness for engineers, and the significance of trustworthy expertise in software engineering.

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Intro

00:00 • 3min

Apologies, AI Implementation Challenges, and Shifting Job Trends

02:50 • 13min

Navigating Pointless Work in Organizations and Managing AI Expectations

15:42 • 4min

Challenges and Expectations in AI Operations

19:21 • 10min

Maximizing Engineer Success Through Financial Awareness and Visibility

29:05 • 17min

Navigating Challenges in the AI Industry

45:55 • 2min

The Importance of Trust and Expertise in Software Engineering

47:32 • 2min

Nik Suresh wrote an evisceration of the current AI hype boom called "I Will F**king Piledrive You If You Mention AI Again." AI Operations Without Fundamental Engineering Discipline // MLOps Podcast #250 with Nikhil Suresh, Director @ Hermit Tech. // Abstract Nik is on the podcast because of an anti-AI hype piece, so a reasonable thing to discuss is going to be what most companies are getting wrong when non-technical management wants to immediately roll out ML initiatives, but are unwilling to bring technical naysayers on board who will set them up for success. // Bio Nik is the author of ludic.mataroa.blog, who wrote "I Will [REDACTED] Piledriver You If You Mention AI Again", and mostly works in the data engineering and data science spaces. Nik's writing and company both focus on bringing more care to work, pushing back against the industry's worst excesses both technically and spiritually, and getting fundamentals right. Nik also has a reasonably strong background in psychology. His data science training was of the pre-LLM variety, circa. 2018, when there was a lot of hype but it wasn't this ridiculous. // MLOps Jobs board https://mlops.pallet.xyz/jobs // MLOps Swag/Merch https://mlops-community.myshopify.com/ // Related Links Website: https://ludic.mataroa.blog/

Nik's blog: https://ludic.mataroa.blog/blog/i-will-fucking-piledrive-you-if-you-mention-ai-again/ Harnessing MLOps in Finance // Michelle Marie Conway // MLOps Podcast Coffee #174: https://youtu.be/nIEld_Q6L-0

Fundamentals of Data Engineering: Plan and Build Robust Data Systems AudiobookBy: Joe Reis, Matt Housley: https://audiobookstore.com/audiobooks/fundamentals-of-data-engineering.aspx

Bullshit Jobs A Theory Hardcover by David Graeber: https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/David-Graeber/dp/0241263883 Does a Frog have Scorpion Nature podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/57i8sYVqxG4i3NvBniLfhv --------------- ✌️Connect With Us ✌️ ------------- Join our slack community: https://go.mlops.community/slack Follow us on Twitter: @mlopscommunity Sign up for the next meetup: https://go.mlops.community/register Catch all episodes, blogs, newsletters, and more: https://mlops.community/ Connect with Demetrios on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dpbrinkm/ Connect with Nik on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nik-suresh/

Timestamps: [00:00] Nik's preferred coffee [00:30] Takeaways [01:40] Please like, share, leave a review, and subscribe to our MLOps channels! [01:56] AI hype and humor [07:21] Defining project success [08:57] Effective data utilization [12:18] AI Hype vs Data Engineering [14:44] AI implementation challenges [17:44 - 18:35] Data Engineering for AI and ML Virtual Conference Ad [18:35] Managing AI Expectations [22:08] AI expectations vs reality [26:00] Balancing Engineering and AI [31:54] Highlighting engineer success [35:25] The real challenges [36:30] Embracing work challenges [37:21] Dealing with podcast disappointments [40:50] Creating content for visibility [43:02] Exploring niche interests [44:14] Relationship building [47:15] Strategic approach to success [48:36] Wrap up