If you are curious about the basics of artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, and quantum computing as key enablers for digital transformation and innovation, Digital Fluency is your handy guide. The real-world applications of these cutting-edge technologies are expanding rapidly, and your daily life will continue to be affected by each of them. There is no better time than now to get started and become digitally fluent.
You need not have previous knowledge of these versatile technologies, as author Volker Lang will expertly guide you through this digital age. He illustrates key concepts and applications in numerous practical examples and more than 48 catchy figures throughout Digital Fluency. The end of each chapter presents you with a helpful implementation checklist of central lessons before proceeding to the next. This book gets to the heart of digital buzzwords and concepts, and tells you what they truly mean.
Table of Contents
Preface1 Digitalization & Digital Transformation1.1 Historical Business Transformations1.2 Innovation & Disruption Theory1.3 The Digital Ecosystem1.3.1 Major Driving Forces1.3.2 Digital Transformation Strategy1.3.3 The Role of Qubits, Blocks and Neurons1.3.4 Innovation Models of Google, Amazon & Co.1.4 Classical Data Processing1.4.1 The Digital Code1.4.2 Principles of Operation1.4.3 Computers & Other Digital DevicesReferences2 Quantum Computing2.1 Setting the Quantum Computing Scene2.2 The Strange World of Quantum Computing2.2.1 Spooky Quantum Reality2.2.2 How Quantum Computers Operate2.2.3 The Fussy Search after the Perfect Qubit2.3 Quantum Computers Today2.3.1 Current Business Applications2.3.2 Commercially Available Systems2.3.3 Next Challenges2.4 Summary & Implementation FrameworkReferences3 Blockchain Technology3.1 Setting the Blockchain Scene3.1.1 The Role of Transactions & Money in History3.1.2 Basic Functions of Money in Society3.2 Blockchain Fundamentals3.2.1 Decentralization and the Arrival of Trust3.2.2 The Immutable Data Structure3.2.3 Digital Value Transfer3.2.4 The Authorization of Transactions by Digital Signatures3.2.5 Deploying Trust by Consensus and Mining3.2.6 Smart Business Contracts3.3 Blockchain Technology Today3.3.1 Implementation Challenges for Enterprises3.3.2 Current Business Applications3.3.3 Further Use Cases3.4 Summary & Implementation FrameworkReferences4 Artificial Intelligence4.1 Setting the Artificial Intelligence Scene4.1.1 The Symbiosis of Neurobiology & Information Theory4.1.2 The Conference that Started it All4.1.3 IBM’s Legendary Projects DeepBlue & Watson4.2 Central Ideas behind Artificial Intelligence4.2.1 The Cost Function4.2.2 Minimization of the Cost Function4.3 The Five Categories of Learning4.3.1 Supervised Learning4.3.2 Unsupervised Learning4.3.3 Deep Learning4.3.4 Ensemble Methods4.3.5 Reinforcement Learning4.4 Top Use Cases and Business Applications4.4.1 Computer Vision4.4.2 Healthcare4.4.3 Natural Language Processing4.4.4 Energy Efficiency4.4.5 Drug Discovery4.4.6 Financial Services & Insurance4.5 Summary & Implementation FrameworkReferences5 Your Digital Action Plan5.1 Envision a Digital Business & Operating Model5.2 Select the Right Technology Stack5.3 Digitize the Core5.4 Identify Pilot Projects5.5 Empower Employees5.6 Shape the Organization & Structure5.7 Establish an Open Innovation Culture5.8 Leverage the EcosystemReferencesGlossary