Kian Katanforoosh
San Francisco, California, United States
33K followers
500+ connections
About
Born and raised in France to an Iranian family, I immigrated to Silicon Valley to follow…
Articles by Kian
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Generative AI Workforce Transformation: A 3D Framework
Generative AI Workforce Transformation: A 3D Framework
By Kian Katanforoosh
Contributions
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What skills should you look for in an AI algorithm developer?
The importance of communication and collaboration skills for AI engineers is on the rise, and here's why. AI is impacting almost every function in a company, from product to sales, marketing, and ops. It is now a horizontal skill that many employees need to master. You've likely heard the term "AI literate"? As such, AI engineers are increasingly involved in cross-functional projects. Even when they belong to a "Center of Excellence", they are frequently deployed into functional teams to solve domain-specific problems. Examples include automating visual inspection on a manufacturing line or helping a marketing team with AI-generated branded assets. AI engineers are no longer in an ivory tower; they're essential business collaborators.
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What skills should you look for in an AI algorithm developer?
With the rise of ML Ops tools that simplify the training, deployment, and monitoring of models, the emphasis on in-depth mathematics and statistics for AI engineers might seem diminished. Yet, the pace at which AI innovations are being released – be it new algorithms, architectures, data sets, training techniques, or ML tools – requires engineers to continually adapt. Understanding the foundations of mathematics and statistics serves as a long-lasting skill set, enabling AI engineers to rapidly assimilate these new developments and maintain a high rate of learning. Lacking these foundational skills may limit their ability to fully engage with cutting-edge research and open-source contributions.
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How can you ensure your AI software development is interdisciplinary?
Computer scientists use AI to solve a variety of problems, but their limited industry-specific knowledge can be a bottleneck to effectively deploying AI systems. Imagine deploying AI to help doctors analyze X-rays without knowledge of the medical field. Difficult. Subject-matter experts (SMEs) are needed! Some of the best AI projects I've seen were developed by SMEs (in areas like Healthcare, Manufacturing, or Agriculture) working alongside computer scientists. It is critical that these SMEs have enough AI skills to collaborate with a computer scientist. When they do, they hit the ground running and enable companies to tackle new business opportunities more rapidly. That's why companies are investing millions to train their SMEs in AI.
Activity
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I got early access to OpenAI's Advanced Voice Mode, and I shared my thoughts on the feature. In short, it was a surprisingly delightful feature that…
I got early access to OpenAI's Advanced Voice Mode, and I shared my thoughts on the feature. In short, it was a surprisingly delightful feature that…
Liked by Kian Katanforoosh
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Thank you so much for the kind words, Ravi Kumar S! 🎉 Truly an honor to be recognized for not just my efforts, but the incredible support and…
Thank you so much for the kind words, Ravi Kumar S! 🎉 Truly an honor to be recognized for not just my efforts, but the incredible support and…
Liked by Kian Katanforoosh
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The Opportunity Atlas (link in the comments) measures intergenerational mobility at the county level across the US. I got curious and put in the…
The Opportunity Atlas (link in the comments) measures intergenerational mobility at the county level across the US. I got curious and put in the…
Liked by Kian Katanforoosh
Experience
Education
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Stanford University
Activities and Societies: Stanford Men's Club Soccer, Persian Student Association
Advisors: Andrew Ng and Amin Saberi
Teaching Assistant for:
CS251 : Bitcoin & Cryptocurrencies with Professors Dan Boneh and Joseph Bonneau
CS255 : Cryptography with Professor Dan Boneh (head TA)
CS229 : Machine Learning with Professors Andrew Ng and John Duchi
CME104 : Linear Algebra and Partial Differential Equations for Engineers with Professor Vadim Khayms
CME106 : Probabilities and Statistics for Engineers with Professor Vadim Khayms -
Activities and Societies: Centrale Football Club, Raid Centrale Paris, Astronomy Club.
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Maths, Physics, and Engineering Sciences
Licenses & Certifications
Projects
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Exodus - Hacking for Diplomacy
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Refugees are not getting the information they need and they do not have a trusted source of information that is easily accessible. To help them, we have built and delivered a chat-based virtual assistant to the UNHCR’s information unit.
Other creatorsSee project -
Project : "Fuel cell integration in the upper stage of a space launcher"
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Together with 4 other students from Ecole Centrale Paris, we had the opportunity to lead this project for Snecma (Safran Group) on the integration of a fuel cell in the upper stage of the future space launcher : Ariane 6.
Third price of the Jury of the Ecole Centrale Paris out of more than 100 projects.Other creators
Honors & Awards
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Forbes 30 Under 30 All-Star Alumni
Forbes
In August 2021, Katanforoosh's workplace skills assessment startup, Workera, raised an additional $16 million. It's raised a total of more than $21 million.
Link: https://www.forbes.com/30-under-30/2022/education -
Forbes 30 Under 30
Forbes
Katanforoosh's idea for Workera grew out of his Stanford graduate work in artificial intelligence with AI guru and Coursera co-founder Andrew Ng. After cofounding deeplearning.ai with Ng in 2017 to create high-quality online courses, in January 2020 he and Ng released Workera. The startup is signing up customers, including one of the world's largest medical device makers, who need to ramp up their employees' AI capabilities. Workera provides skills assessments, tells employers what training…
Katanforoosh's idea for Workera grew out of his Stanford graduate work in artificial intelligence with AI guru and Coursera co-founder Andrew Ng. After cofounding deeplearning.ai with Ng in 2017 to create high-quality online courses, in January 2020 he and Ng released Workera. The startup is signing up customers, including one of the world's largest medical device makers, who need to ramp up their employees' AI capabilities. Workera provides skills assessments, tells employers what training their employees need, guides employees to courses and advises on hiring. The son of Iranian immigrants to France, he grew up outside Paris and came to the U.S. to attend Stanford where he is a computer science lecturer.
Link: https://www.forbes.com/profile/kian-katanforoosh/?sh=52f7e09f72a7 -
Walter J. Gores Award
Stanford University
The Gores Award is the University's highest award for excellence in teaching. The Walter J. Gores Awards recognize undergraduate and graduate teaching excellence. As the University's highest award for teaching, the Gores Award celebrates achievement in educational activities that include lecturing, tutoring, advising, and discussion leading…
The Gores Award is the University's highest award for excellence in teaching. The Walter J. Gores Awards recognize undergraduate and graduate teaching excellence. As the University's highest award for teaching, the Gores Award celebrates achievement in educational activities that include lecturing, tutoring, advising, and discussion leading.
http://news.stanford.edu/2017/06/08/stanfords-2017-cuthbertson-dinkelspiel-gores-awards-honor-faculty-staff-students/
https://registrar.stanford.edu/everyone/university-awards/walter-j-gores-awards -
Centennial Teaching Award
Stanford University - School of Engineering
The annual Centennial Teaching Assistant (CTA) Awards recognizes outstanding teaching assistants (TAs) for their tremendous service and dedication in providing excellent classroom instruction for Stanford students. Administered by the Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching & Learning (VPTL), the recipients of the award are selected from a wide range of individuals throughout the Schools of Humanities and Sciences, Earth Sciences, and Engineering. VPTL provides orientation, training, and…
The annual Centennial Teaching Assistant (CTA) Awards recognizes outstanding teaching assistants (TAs) for their tremendous service and dedication in providing excellent classroom instruction for Stanford students. Administered by the Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching & Learning (VPTL), the recipients of the award are selected from a wide range of individuals throughout the Schools of Humanities and Sciences, Earth Sciences, and Engineering. VPTL provides orientation, training, and mentorship to teaching assistants in their capacity as instructors and now hosts the annual awards ceremony in June, where deans of the three participating schools present awardees with a $500 stipend and a certificate recognizing their accomplishment.
https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/grants-awards/teaching-awards/centennial-teaching-assistant-awards -
Centrale Talents Laureate
Board of Ecole Centrale Paris
Prize given to students who have led remarkable accomplishments during their studies among all the students according to the Jury of Ecole Centrale Paris.
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Par le dispositif Centrale Talents, dans une démarche constante d’encourager l’excellence et l’engagement, l’École souhaite valoriser les réussites des étudiants qui se distinguent par un parcours académique hors du commun, une démarche exceptionnelle dans le cadre associatif, une création entrepreneuriale ou scientifique…Prize given to students who have led remarkable accomplishments during their studies among all the students according to the Jury of Ecole Centrale Paris.
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Par le dispositif Centrale Talents, dans une démarche constante d’encourager l’excellence et l’engagement, l’École souhaite valoriser les réussites des étudiants qui se distinguent par un parcours académique hors du commun, une démarche exceptionnelle dans le cadre associatif, une création entrepreneuriale ou scientifique marquante.
Link: http://www.centralesupelec.fr/fr/centrale-talents-les-laureats-2015 -
Graine de Boss, French Entrepreneur Contest, Laureate
Graine de Boss
Asker’s team led in France by Eymard Houdeville, Florian Barral and Jeremy Guiselin at that time, was granted the Graine de Boss Award in 2015 among more than a 1000 start-ups. Graine de Boss is a start-up contest associated with a mentoring program proposed in partnership with M6 (French TV Chanel).
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Ecole Centrale Excellence Scholarship
Association des Centraliens
Prize given to the 15 most representative students among the 1000 finishing in 2015 and 2016. The criteria of selection were the average grade and the contribution to the universities' associations and life in the campus.
Languages
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French
Native or bilingual proficiency
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Persian
Native or bilingual proficiency
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English
Full professional proficiency
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Chinese
Elementary proficiency
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Spanish
Limited working proficiency
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