Starting the journey into AI

In 1998, I took a sales job at a regional internet service provider in Seattle, transitioning from a career in the nonprofit sector. Not long after, I went to work for AT&T and moved from sales to engineering, earning several certifications and eventually achieving the CCIE in 2004.

Needless to say, I have made my home in the networking industry and seen a lot of change over the years. Now, as an industry, we face a new challenge, namely, the rise of machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Personally, I feel intimidated by the concept, and even more, how it might apply to the work that we all do at Cisco. Even so, rather than avoiding or belittling AI, I want to better understand it and invite you to join me on that quest.

AI = "Ain't Interested"

Attitudes about AI in the High-Tech sector are all over the place. For some, the entire topic is suspect and nothing more than a lot of hype. Others view the development with distrust and fear that AI could result in job or career loss; still, more engineers have ethical concerns about the concept itself.

One of the funnier alternative acronyms for AI  the subject. This is nothing new. I remember in the early 2000's that traditional telephony manufacturers labeled Voice over IP (VoIP) as "simply a fad," which sounds very similar. It's worth noting that nearly all those companies no longer exist, because they failed to adapt.

Challenge, threat, or opportunity?

In his 1962 book, The Diffusion of Innovations, Everett Rogers proposes the Innovation Adoption Curve, which shows how new products or technologies become mainstream. You've probably watched this play out numerous times when a new product or technology hits the market. 5G cellular service is a more recent example, where the industry was slow to adopt it in the beginning.

• Innovators tend to adopt things quickly.
• Early Adopters wait for a while before jumping into something.
• Early Majority users usually begin stepping up after seeing some early successes.

The latter categories only act after things have proven themselves more. Depending on the sources you read, AI is most likely transitioning from the Early Adopters to the Early Majority, which signals a more rapid expansion of the user base.

Ultimately, no one wants to be in the Laggards category, which is defined as those who drag their feet.

I find myself intrigued enough to start taking AI more seriously, not as a "cure-all" but as a tool to accomplish more. For example, I type too quickly and often end up with spelling and typographical errors in my writing, so tools to correct that would be a huge help.

I can also see the value in using AI-enabled tools for research, where the technology can sift through vast amounts of data to find relevant and accurate content. While I am still a comparative "newbie," I am starting to see the value in using AI.

Walking with eyes open

A healthy amount of skepticism is helpful because it encourages caution and questioning rather than accepting things blindly. I think this has a lot of applicability to the personal adoption of AI, as it allows me (and by extension, hopefully you as well) to take advantage of this tool while staying realistic about it.

Keeping an open mind and questioning things are not polar opposites; they produce a more balanced viewpoint. I have friends and professional colleagues who range from "AI is the most amazing thing ever" to "AI is a lot of hype and a waste of time," so I can see a wide range of attitudes on the topic.

Where to go from here

In my own personal journey as a network professional, I first want to explore AI and learn more about it. I want a realistic appraisal of this technology's capabilities and a firm grasp of its limitations. Once I have built a more substantial knowledge base, I want to find ways to apply it not only to my work at Cisco but also in other areas.

I invite you to take this journey along with me, and in future posts and videos, I will share what I have learned. As I do that, I look forward to feedback that can help me even further.

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