Fireside Chats at KI labs; ep. 13
Let’s start with the basics, where did life start for you?
“I was born as the 5th child in a small town on the west coast of Turkey. I have a twin sister and love her so much… I love all my sisters. My siblings are all sisters, no brothers. I grew up in a very small town called Kocarli. My Father was very strict as the usual traditional family father would be in Turkey. It was not very easy for me but that was his upbringing. My family is dear to me.
I was very curious from a young age — I started reading and doing calculations before I started primary school. My older sisters helped me since they were already in school.
I soon found I happened to be very good at school, but my father’s expectations were to take over the family restaurant — a totally different direction that I fought against.
In my university entrance exam, I was ranked 209th of around 1,500,000 — which is not to brag, but just to emphasize that school was something I knew I was good at. I made it into the most selective universities in Turkey, but I really knew nothing about what I wanted to do in life. I just knew I was interested in languages and good at mathematics. At that time, we were not as careful about selecting a major and at first I was unsure about the study of computer engineering. I didn’t consider myself a geek interested in games like most of my classmates but really enjoyed mathematics. I had some classes I really enjoyed around algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, and Mathematics — other classes, not so much.
From that time until now I can explain quickly… After my degree, I started working but still questioned what I wanted to do. I wasn’t very happy with doing standard programming so I thought I could do something related to the economy and mathematics. I decided to go back to school to study my masters in Econometrics in the UK on scholarship. After completing my first master’s degree, I went back to Turkey for the compulsory military service and served as an officer for one year.
After the service, I got a job at a bank as a Software Architect and found the field of AI and data science. I felt as if I had found my niche — where I could give my best. Data science was not big yet, so I switched to another related department in the bank: Business Intelligence.
I decided to get my second master’s with my savings in Barcelona, studying Artificial Intelligence. I was very happy with my choice. I picked up a lot of practical knowledge, became fluent in Spanish, and ended up working in Spain for a bit after my degree. Unfortunately, the Spanish economy was not doing so well. The work permit process was not standardized, and I needed a special kind of work permit to stay. I decided I needed more security and started to look for jobs in Germany.
Is that when you found KI labs?
Yes, I applied to KI labs from Spain. I was attracted to the company after my first interview. It seemed to me, and I was told, that if you feel you can do more with your abilities, and your skills — this is your place. I still remember that being what attracted me most. I had a gut feeling that this was the company I would work for and I was right.
What do you like here?
I like people here, that is the best part of KI labs. The mindset, the people, the friendliness, the helpfulness and openness. They listen to you, your criticisms and complaints, and I believe the leaders here really do try to implement change based on employees’ concern. This is a new startup so that comes at a cost and I recognize that. I am still here because I feel comfortable.
The diversity is also a huge benefit. People from all over the world work here but also people with diverse experience. I am still learning in my everyday responsibilities. Many of my coworkers are strong in aspects I am not, and I challenge myself to learn what they are doing and get better in those areas.
What has been your favorite project so far?
My main project started as a use case. We tried to make it something people need and then figure out how people would actually use the product. The synergy in our group along with the customer was amazing. We were always honest about what wouldn’t work, what we didn’t believe in, and the customer was trying to understand and generally agreeing with our conclusions. We evolved a lot in that project, the different use cases, and the development and implementation went very smoothly. Everyone was really motivated.
The project was eventually stopped because the top management of the client decided to change directions and didn’t believe in the use case — which I partially agreed with. We were obviously not happy because we were very satisfied with what we had built. That being said, we were not at all disappointed with what we were able to accomplish. There was also a slight conflict of interest with one of their proprietary tools and the technology we were using but that’s a whole other topic.
Where do you think the field of data science is going?
I’m excited about Data Science because it’s still in its infancy, in my opinion. New algorithms are being discovered every day. We don’t know much but are starting to understand what’s possible. It’s allowing us to solve what we have not previously been able to solve by using data. Data allows you to extract a mathematical relationship automatically with the help of a learning algorithm. This is amazing, actually. You can solve a lot of problems with this. There is a lot of potential here.
There is also a lot of hype in this area and people think it is magic: you just put the data and the algorithm and poof! It doesn’t work like that. There are a lot of tricks you have to know about and be careful about. It constantly amazes me and it has a lot of challenges. When I deal with a data science problem, I become obsessed with finding creative solutions on how to improve things.
What is next, what changes next in the world?
We will learn more and understand better the logic and functioning behind data science. The hype will settle down, but it will be more stable. We will have a better understanding of its actual capabilities and know what also is not possible. I don’t think there is a future of robots taking over… We still don’t know a lot about consciousness. I definitely think it is possible that future advances can end up in the wrong hands but unlikely to result in a robot apocalypse like the hype predicts.
What do you personally want to learn next?
I want to be an expert in AI — I know that. I want to be a person whom you can consult for puzzling problems and creative solutions. I’m also interested in quantum computing but that may be more in the future.
Last question: who’s running your dad’s restaurant?
My sister’s husband ended up taking over the restaurant. They make an amazing Turkish pizza (called ‘pide’ actually), and people come from all over the region just to eat the special pizza. If you’re ever in the neighborhood of Kocarli, definitely visit and try it out!
