F.R.I.D.A.Y.: the heroine of data analysis
Continuing our saga Data Science: Infinity War, let’s talk about one of the pillars of Data Science and one of the pillars of Iron Man’s powers.
“Good evening, boss!”
This is the phrase that F.R.I.D.A.Y. speaks to Tony Stark after her activation, in the film Avengers: Age of Ultron. The Artificial Intelligence, which replaced Jarvis after he became Vision, is responsible for saving the hero by pointing out the best path – a task that makes our heroine today a data analyst.
So, what F.R.I.D.A.Y. does, a data scientist could do? Yes. Basically, she automates data analysis to provide practical solutions for Iron Man. And this is a fundamental process within Data Science. If you are a data scientist, you can start considering sending your resume to Tony Stark.
If you are not a data scientist… Well, you’ve realized the importance of having someone who understands data within your company, right? If even the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist and owner of one of the largest (fictitious) companies in the world has, it is because, without a doubt, a Data Science-based strategy adds value to the business.
F.R.I.D.A.Y.: the predictive analysis of Iron Man
It seems that what FRIDAY does is magic, future telling, witchcraft. But it isn’t. There is no magic as she does not predict exactly what will happen to Iron Man and his hero friends. She predicts what may happen in the future based on risk assessment and scenarios with an acceptable level of reliability.
What is likely to happen?
This is predictive analysis! From a data set, you can extract information to find patterns and, thus, identify future results. That is, when Friday triggers the medical emergency for Tony Stark because his heart rate is accelerating, it is because she recognizes beat velocity as a pattern and identifies that Tony is likely to be in danger.
Another very characteristic scene of predictive analysis happens in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Tony asks Friday for help in the battle of Sokovia so she can find a way to save the city that Ultron intended to destroy. Tony makes several suggestions and Friday responds, according to her database, presenting the possibilities for each scenario.
F.R.I.D.A.Y. applied to business
Bringing her to the corporate world, Friday could use her predictive analytics to better understand the market, understand future customer needs, and thereby calculate risks and possible business opportunities. All of this from a historical database (from the past) and real-time one (from the present) to answer what is likely to happen in the future.
Historical Data + Real-Time Data ⇒ Predictive Analysis
But a superhero is nothing without their tools, right? And from time to time the help of other heroes is also very welcome. With Friday, it’s no different. To make her analysis and to be more than just an Iron Man Help Desk, she uses techniques such as statistical modeling, data mining and, of course, Machine Learning – yes, with Vision’s help (which we’ll talk about later in our series!).
Predictive model: training F.R.I.D.A.Y
That is what the movies don’t show, but we’ll show you here. Before getting J.A.R.V.I.S. and F.R.I.D.A.Y. up and running to save his skin (and that of the other Avengers) in the middle of the battles, Tony Stark certainly trained them with predictive models.
Predictive modeling uses various statistical and analytical techniques. It is through them that it becomes possible to develop models to predict future scenarios from different or new data. That is, Tony had to show various data sets so that Friday could make predictions of what could happen and inform him which way to go.
Dataset → Extract Information → Determining future standards and results
In this sense, we have two predictive models: classification and regression.
Classification model
The classification models are based on categorical data. In this model, you can predict whether a given event has a chance to happen or not. It is a binary response (yes or no / good or bad / negative or positive) usually presented as 0 or 1.
Here we can imagine Friday responding to Tony Stark whether he will win or lose, die or live, win a battle with the Hulk or not (who remembers this epic fight?).
Bringing it to the corporate scene, this model could answer whether an investment is positive or negative, whether there is fraud or not (in the case of insurance companies), whether credit risk is good or bad (for the financial sector).
Regression model
In regression models, predictions are answered by numbers.
Through this model, Friday could respond to Iron Man the likely speed that the Hulk hit Loki on the ground several times (another historic scene!) In the Stark Tower.
In companies, regression models can answer the percentage of reduction of a given cost, the risk of a patient developing a disease, what is the ROI of an investment.
Preventing the future of your company
Crystal Ball. Super powerful mind. Supernatural abilities. Man has always seen the future telling as something extraordinary. But this is no longer exclusive to movie screens.
Because of the sheer amount of data we produce every second, technology comes in to enable predictive analytics to structure information and provide a likely scenario.
Data wants to give you important and strategic messages and, through this, through Digital Transformation, put the power in your hands.
And the series “Data Science: Infinity War” continues: Vision comes on the scene!
Vision can be considered as a peculiar character. Unlike other heroes who are human (okay, gods, mutants and aliens as well), he’s an android. Created by Tony Stark in Avengers: Age of Ultron, it came from a merger between J.A.R.V.I.S. and the villain who names the film.
Vision developed such advanced artificial intelligence that he was able to develop self-awareness – as a man himself, able to fight for humanity and even fall in love with the powerful mutant Scarlet Witch.
Bringing him to Data Science, he represents Machine Learning, which we mentioned in this post because machine learning is also a model for data analysis. In fact, many corporations have already brought Vision to their reality and use it, among other things, to generate more business.
Keep following the saga of our heroes to defeat Thanos, the villain of the analog mindset. And if you missed a chapter in this saga, hurry before someone gives you a spoiler: now access our post relating the endless knuckle and Data Science!
