AI, NLP, Blockchain: Yes, We’re on The Buzzword Bandwagon but Here's Why

- Simon Bain, BOHH Labs CEO

Like every year, there are certain technologies that get more attention than others. Right now, some of the biggest ones making a good run include Artificial Intelligence (AI), Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Blockchain. Based on the number of companies or new products that have come out of the woodwork using these technologies, it’s clear people love to use buzzwords and tout they are using the hottest, most innovative technology on the market to gain competitive edge and create the illusion of being a forward-thinker. However, many companies jump on the buzzword bandwagon simply because it is something popular everyone is doing, and so they do it too. While this may just sound like a lame popularity contest giving you nightmares of your high school days, when this strategy is applied to something critical like data security, there can be serious ramifications for companies laying all their eggs in one basket and settling for solutions that are hot at the moment.

Before I go on about how bad it is to jump on buzzword bandwagons, I first must address that at BOHH Labs we do apply the AI, NLP and Blockchain technology buzzwords taking the industry by storm. However, what makes our approach unique is that we do not rely on just one of these, but instead use them in an interconnected way that helps us ensure we can secure all user, applications and data access. So yes, we do fall in to the bucket of one of those companies using buzzwords, but we leverage the benefits that make each one of them unique in to a full-encompassing security solution. Below is a breakdown why and how we apply each of these technologies:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI):  AI uses a compound set of algorithms to detect patterns and predict outcomes from a large amount of data online, as such, the self-learning capabilities and ability to recognize patterns and anomalies within them, makes AI a great tool to detect cybersecurity threats within the network in real time. We use an AI engine to do threat analysis and to prevent intrusions. Our AI manages ports, interacts with and processes user requests, and maintains a secure connection by learning, identifying and removing any unwanted traffic before it is passed along and gets access to any of the backend applications or databases. 
• Natural Language Processing: NLP is a great tool to connect the gap between human and machines as technology continues to advance and will have many advantages to streamlining processes. Our NLP is critical to ensuring the BOHH solution works properly. It works like most human brains work. When a request comes in, it determines if it is a command or question, then it does entity recognition, looks and finds the answer from the correct database(s), performs any additional processing math, and then formats the response and passes it back. 
• In-Memory Distributed Blockchain Ledger: The underlying technology of blockchain offers great potential to bring more granularity to areas where you have an open network of millions of transactions. It offers the potential of an unchangeable, universally visible ledger that creates its own audit trail, decreasing the possibility of backdoor transactions. We use an encrypted In-Memory Distributed Blockchain Ledger. Unlike other standard databases, the ledger fields do not hold complete data. This means that the database service requires less memory and processing power, less management of resources for the database itself and controls field level access of data down to an individual or device level. The power of this is that you can have multiple devices accessing a single database and table, yet each can only access a single field managed by that database regardless of the SQL query that has been sent. 

There you have it. To sum up, I believe it is my role as a technologist to help companies understand why it is important to invest in security technologies that will make an impact on their solution, and not just apply something new that is hot now.