Buck Woody on Data Science - Episode 175

This week, Jeffrey is joined by Buck Woody, Applied Data Scientist working on the Azure Data Services team at Microsoft. Buck has over 39 years of professional and practical experience in computer technology and is also a globally sought-after speaker and author.

In this jam-packed episode, Buck talks about his passion for data and why it's important to recognize that data is the central part of anything, which means keeping people employed. He talks about his role in machine learning and AI in Microsoft, and why we have to be extra careful when letting machines make the final call, why data science is useful, and the difference between business intelligence and data science. Buck shares the number one thing he feels developers need to know, and a few free resources that you can use to expand your knowledge and skills.

Topics of Discussion:

[2:00] Jeffrey welcomes Buck and gives a quick overview of his background and how he got into data and security. Buck has worked with many top companies including IBM, NASA, and started at Microsoft about 16 years ago.

[5:00] Jeffrey joined the Red Dog team, which was the early part of Azure.

[6:12] What was working in tech and AI back in the 1970s, compared to today?

[9:48] How do we take some of the AI technology for granted?

[10:04] What is data mining?

[15:00] What does Buck feel is the number one thing a developer needs to understand about data and effective queries?

[20:44] What is Buck's definition of Big Data?

[22:46] What is the difference between business intelligence and the idea around data science?

[24:25] What is the number one question Buck asks when someone tells him they want artificial intelligence?

[25:47] Why don't you need business intelligence to do data science?

[26:03] What is the age-old practice of ETL?

[27:12] What is source data poisoning, and how does it affect our algorithms?

[30:31] It is important for AI to augment human reasoning. Buck and Jeffrey talk about the example of recognizing red vs. green lights.