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Dear Students, Every
generation has a defining buzzword, and I’m sure nobody will disagree that in
this era, the podium spot goes to AI/GenAI. However, to understand how to
make AI/GenAI effective, we must first understand what makes AI/GenAI ‘tick’. The underlying bedrock of that is… Data.
Organisations
are now making sense of how to leverage all the data they have to monetise
and capitalise on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, thus giving rise to
the term data capital. Let
me simplify the concept of data capital for context here. The traditional
method of valuing a company is based on certain financial metrics like
operating income, free cash flow, and earnings per share. However, due to the
rise of AI/GenAI, organisations are starting to recognise that their data can
be highly leveraged to gain advantages in aspects such as decision-making,
insights, and competitors' analysis/positioning. Data capital, therefore,
refers to organisational data available, that can be used towards an end
goal, such as increasing profits or maximising efficiency. There
are certain industries that highly value data capital. Let’s take the
semiconductor industry for example. It operates within a high-stakes,
winner-takes-all environment. Semiconductor companies are constantly focusing
on three main objectives: 1) Improving life cycles
in R&D, 2) Increasing yield and
reducing manufacturing costs, and 3) Minimising the rate of
error in production. Taking
aspect 2) into perspective, production costs of 65-nanometer (nm) node versus
a current day 5-nanometer (nm) node have surged from $400 million to $5.4
billion. Thus, if a semiconductor company can leverage and effectively
utilise its data sets and apply innovative algorithms in Artificial Intelligence/
Machine Learning modules, it can significantly outperform competitors and
generate substantial profits.
As
a student, understanding the intrinsic value of data capital allows you to
have a differentiating conversation with your potential hiring manager.
Leveraging data for monetary gains in companies has become ubiquitous across
business functions and it’s not limited to just the Chief Digital Officer’s
(CDO) organisation. I look forward to what this generation of NTU graduates
can bring forth to the world as we step boldly into this digital era. Interesting
times ahead… References 1.
Scaling AI in the sector
that enables it: Lessons for semiconductor-device makers. April 2, 2021,
Mckinsey.com, https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/semiconductors/our-insights/scaling-ai-in-the-sector-that-enables-it-lessons-for-semiconductor-device-makers
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