#39 Communicating the Results of Advanced Analytics Projects with Matt Kuperholz - Partner and Chief Data Scientist

In this episode I talk to Matt Kuperholz. Matt currently works for PWC as a Partner in their Analytic Intelligence Area and is their Chief Data scientist. As a kid, Matt was fascinated by computers and while training to be an actuary started developing his computer science skills. This led to working as a data scientist and consulting with top tier companies. In this episode Matt and I talk about his career journey, why it’s important to focus on the real world and not just the data and how data science can be integrated into businesses. We discuss the concept of responsible AI and why the exponential growth of technology is making for an interesting world. With a background in both actuary and computer science, Matt has been working with data for over 20 years. He ran his own company in the early 2000s which included working with Deloitte Australia as they started to look at how to use data science in their business. He is now a is a partner and chief data scientist at PWC Australia. An expert in planning, executing and communicating the results of advanced analytics projects, Matt’s area of specialisation is the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to detailed and complex data. Summary · Matt’s love for computers and he he got to where he is now (00:12) · How Matt’s interest in computers led to a love for data (06:28) · Matt’s interest in martial arts and why a diversity of people matters (08:19) · Smell-testing the quality of a number, and the importance of attention to detail (09:40) · Working with limited time on a mainframe and how Matt coped with limited resources (12:09) · The early days of using AI and what it was like working in a start-up in the late 90s (15:04) · The importance of well prepared data (16:56) · How Matt keeps up to date with data and technology (21:17) · How Matt chooses what problems to tackle (23:26) · What it was like working with Deloitte (26:03) · How data can integrate into other areas of a business (28:32) · Starting with the real world problem before focusing on the data (30:26) · A recent project Matt has worked on exploring what trust looks like in a digital world (35:11) · The idea of responsible AI and how we develop checks and regulation (41:41) · How technologies are growing exponentially and causing a fast changing world (49:45) · How Matt follows his curiosity and how this has led to opportunities (52:05) · Why the data industry is worth getting into (54:48) · The importance of finding what you are into and staying true to yourself (55:53) Connect: Twitter - https://twitter.com/datafuturology Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/datafuturology/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/datafuturology Now you can support Data Futurology on Patreon!  https://www.patreon.com/datafuturology Thank you to our sponsors: JCU Master of Data Science - Online Program Fyrebox - Make Your Own Quiz And as always, we appreciate your Reviews, Follows, Likes, Shares and Ratings. Thank you so much for listening. Enjoy the show!