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Re:Analyzing electric utility data using machine learning by taneq on Sunday March 26, 2017 @11:16PM (#13964879)
I think "recreated a small portion of their core research" would be a fairer title. The current title makes it sound like he's actually built a competitor to the company, when in fact, all he's proved is that basic tech is often an almost trivial part of a company, compared with all of the housekeeping and other busywork required to actually provide a service to customers.
Re:Analyzing electric utility data using machine learning by bullsandabears on Sunday March 26, 2017 @11:29PM (#13964941)
I have to add there is zero reverse-engineering here. The main purpose of this article seems to be name-dropping for the 500M company while trying to generate some 'thoughtleader'-cred
Re:Analyzing electric utility data using machine learning by passiveincomelg on Sunday March 26, 2017 @11:42PM (#13965004)
Yep, "reverse engineering" used to mean something. Nowadays the term is misused just like "hacker".
Re:Analyzing electric utility data using machine learning by Spooky23 on Sunday March 26, 2017 @11:40PM (#13964995)
When you're peddling knowledge, knowing the formula is a big deal.

Most utilities have existing load reduction programs in place that do this kind of analysis via subcontractors who build energy efficiently plans. In my state, you can get substantial energy discounts if you agree to let the system operator control a portion of your electric supply and shut stuff off when there is a peak usage event.

All of these contractors bid on this stuff. If I can pay this guy or some other random consultant guy to do this analysis with more modern techniques, I can get rid of 3-5 energy engineers @150k of payroll and benefits each. That means I win the bid.

I can guarantee you that paying this guy money that will make him do backflips will cost maybe 10% of what it would cost if I went to Oracle or IBM.

You folks who work with this stuff don't understand how poor the tooling is in verticals like this. If you ever have an opportunity to see IBM Watson people in the room with CIOs, take it and try not to shake your head too much. They demonstrate analysis that is much less robust than this of things like help desk tickets, and CIOs think they've met HAL.

Re:Analyzing electric utility data using machine learning by aisofteng on Sunday March 26, 2017 @11:21PM (#13964911)
Indeed. The work described in this post is something I'd expect out of an intern after one or two weeks.
Re:Analyzing electric utility data using machine learning by platz on Sunday March 26, 2017 @11:32PM (#13964956)
i.e. "I ran K-Means, here's the result."
Re:Analyzing electric utility data using machine learning by CuddleMuffin on Monday March 27, 2017 @12:01AM (#13965100)
As someone who does ML for a living, couldn't agree more. Usually your initial research only constitutes a tiny portion of your spent resources, it's putting it in production that makes you a 500 mil company. As always the devil is in the details, and it's unreal how much can go wrong once you actually have to ACT using the model and not just theorize. Sounds like someone hasn't left academia yet...
Re:Analyzing electric utility data using machine learning by simonrobb on Sunday March 26, 2017 @11:20PM (#13964910)
Beat me to it. Strongly agree.
Re:Analyzing electric utility data using machine learning by good_vibes on Sunday March 26, 2017 @11:28PM (#13964939)
harsh reality but I agree