David Dobrin

Follow enterprise applications for a living--skeptically and I hope honestly. Most tweets these days ask questions that the apps can't answer.

[David Dobrin @toppundit]

@jedgarlopez I thought I replied to this, but maybe it didn't get through. "What Computers Can't Do" is the obvious one to read. I'm just rereading. Unfortunately out of print. I'm thinking of doing an update called "What AI Can't Do?"

[David Dobrin @toppundit]

Hey @jedgarlopez. I met you at the AI & Democracy conference. Have you looked at Bert Dreyfus's book?

[David Dobrin @toppundit]

@jedgarlopez Calling it "What AI Can't Do?"

[David Dobrin @toppundit]

@jedgarlopez Depends. "What Computers Can't Do?" is the obvious one, though it's a little hard to get hold of. I'm just rereading, thinking about doing an update.

[David Dobrin @toppundit]

Today's worker shortages are occurring partly because workers were fired in the pandemic so as to conserve cash. Looking back, what do you think?

[David Dobrin @toppundit]

Is there such a thing as dirty money? In today's #nytimes—today's!-- Apple DM$<-- stalkerware, YouTube DM$<-- the Disinfo Dozen. What DM policy should your company have? a) Not our problem. b) Revenue vs. reputation loss, c) Case-by-case, d) Drop when caught, e) Don't take it.

[David Dobrin @toppundit]

Best manager I ever met worked at a nearby Whole Foods. After she left, a clerk told me, “The whole place has changed." How would WF systems show this? a) Numerical rating (NR), perfor. reviews? b) NR, 360s? c) Text on engagement questionnaires? d) Manager’s text? d) Nah, no way.

[David Dobrin @toppundit]

In Barcelona, a law forbids renting out private rooms. AirBnB "complies," but lets any host circumvent the law by checking a box. That’s OK because a) Barca should do enforcement. b) It's a bad law. c) It’s a loophole. d) Global companies can’t afford to comply with local laws.

[David Dobrin @toppundit]

When SAP wouldn't spring for my hotel room (2008-2011, say), I stayed at the Red Roof Inn in Orlando. They still send me "valued customer" e-mails. Why? a) E-mail's free, why cull? b) Memory accentuates the positive? c) Mkting bonused for # active customers? d) Cust seg a bust?

[David Dobrin @toppundit]

(No snark alert, I'm genuinely puzzled.) What initiative would best increase business flexibility. a) New market, new product? b) Lease back assets? c) Reduce worker protections? d) Cross-training, so employees can hold several jobs? e) Strategic planning programs with teeth?

[David Dobrin @toppundit]

Who to believe?  a) the software salesperson? b) the internal committee that's staked its career on the purchase c) testimonials from other users paid for by the software company? d) what other users say, only, oops, their software contract doesn't allow them to talk to you?

[David Dobrin @toppundit]

What's the ROI of a process improvement? a) Zero, no measurable return, b) Infinite, no cost, c) negative, cost to implement, no return, d) gain is Delta Efficiency x Cost of Operations, but how to measure the delta? e) listen, no bonuses for process improvement? Don't bother me.

[David Dobrin @toppundit]

Asked why their local newspapers have dropped most local content, a Gannett rep said, "We have algorithms that tell us what our readers want.” OMG. Algorithm!! What is worse? a) They actually believe it. b) They expect us to believe it. c) They don't expect anyone to believe it.

[David Dobrin @toppundit]

Toxic bosses hurt retention. How do you find them? a) 360 evaluations, ding the losers? b) Exit interviews, ding the [expletive deleted]s? c) Film the Christmas party, ding the idiots? d) Announce the purchase of an AI program that identifies toxic bosses, wait? e) Suggestions?

[David Dobrin @toppundit]

Sustainability means paying fair wages. But this idea involves most companies in a comic misunderstanding of how fairness works. "OK. We'll pay fair wages, but we'll decide what's fair." Is this common idea a) demented? b) confused? c) annoying or d) perfectly reasonable?

[David Dobrin @toppundit]

In my neck of the woods, the brazen appropriation of public space by Amazon Delivery, Uber, and Lyft is both highly visible and highly annoying. Over the last 150 years, one of the best ways of making a profit in America was to sell public goods. Still true?

[David Dobrin @toppundit]

Oracle sales slowing, apparently. Suggests a question or two. What is the useful life of a business software product? Why is it always longer than we think? And, since tech debt can’t be fixed and the useful life is infinite, why pay for an R & D organization?

[David Dobrin @toppundit]

"Morality is the realm of what we must do...ethics...is about what it means to live a good life."-- Appiah. Question. Years ago, a Baan manager told me. "Whatever we're asked, we always say the software can do it." Is that a) immoral? b) unethical? c) both? d) just business?

[David Dobrin @toppundit]

Modern data analytics follows Bayes' method. Guess at a pattern; then show that it’s there. Modern science follows Popper's method. Guess at a pattern (hypothesize), then prove that it isn’t there (falsification). Does this mean "data science" is a contradiction in terms?

[David Dobrin @toppundit]

Utilities across the country fail at resilience. Entergy spent $230 million on a plant that didn't resil. Why? 1. Bad planning? 2. Bad design? 3. Bad faith? 4. FOMN (fear of missing numbers). 5. No one knows how to measure/evaluate resilience?