about the authors

Andrew R. Freed is a Distinguished Engineer with over 20 years of experience, the latter half in AI. He joined IBM’s Watson division shortly after Watson defeated past champions in Jeopardy! and has delivered many AI-based solutions since. Andrew has learned from a wide variety of technical books and blogs and is passionate about “paying it forward” by sharing his hard-won knowledge. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family.

Cari Jacobs has been working in information technology for nearly 30 years. Her experience includes datacenter operations, Unix administration, and production application support. In 2014, she joined IBM’s Watson division. As a cognitive engineer/solution architect, she has consulted on and delivered conversational AI solutions for dozens of Fortune 500 companies. She has also worked with many other national brands, regional businesses, government agencies, universities, and startup companies. She loves to learn and share her knowledge. Her hobbies include kayaking, photography, and Brazilian jiu jitsu.