The Datapreneurs: The Promise of AI and the Creators Building Our Future by Bob Muglia and Steve Hamm.
Bob spent 23 years at Microsoft starting the SQL Server business. He managed the Visual Studio, Office, and Windows Server Divisions. From 2007 to 2011 he was President of Microsoft’s Server & Tools Division. He departed for short stays at Juniper and Snowflake. Today Bob serves as a board member at several AI startups: Fivetran, Fauna, Docugami, Julia Computing, and RelationalAI.
The Datapreneurs should have been split into two books. The first (and highly recommended) would be a history of database technology. Bob is providing amazingly experiences and insights tracing database services back to the early 1950s. He would certainly provide learning experiences from his role at Microsoft. Many will be benefitting from his working knowledge of data. It helps explain the fast changing database marketplace we see today. He is certainly accurately mapping the modern data stack. Regrettably, the second book would address hyping AI startups where one has a financial stake as a board member, consultant, or advisor.. His implicit bias clearly obscures their AI service and reputation.
The History of Data 101
Bob would make a wonderful professor of data. This book is very enjoyable reading as Bob documents the early years of computing at IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle. He is also able to strongly convey the impact of data analytics. Many database programmers will certainly appreciate his reliance upon upon Isaac Asimov’s Laws of Robotics. Bob is using these laws to discuss ethical and legal implications of AI. This does include the use of smart machines and robots.
In addition, the AI topics and examples are misaligned by his financial interests. However, his view of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) where machines with intelligence equal to humans will arrive within the decade. Bob also shared how he watched the development of Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI and creator of ChatGPT.
Bias that can mislead reads on AI companies
In conclusion, Bob’s financial-driven hype of AI companies are above. Readers will certainly gain a solid understanding of databases. His bias may led many to extend his level of trust from twenty years at Microsoft to the AI startups in this book.