The Evolving Role of the Human in AI-Driven Workflows and Decisions
by George Voneiff with Texas A&M University
Abstract
This presentation discusses how and why a human should play a role in Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven workflows and decisions, and how that role is evolving with time. AI is not magic, but a complex and powerful tool. Examples illustrate the shortcomings of existing AI systems and where human intervention is needed to guide and QC those systems. The human involvement is described in detail for a completion optimization AI workflow both as of today and 5+ years from now. The presentation defines AI, describes how AI creates value, and spotlights fundamental limitations of AI, especially when applied in ‘extrapolated’ situations. The human role is evolving, not only designing useful time-saving workflows, but also understanding and explaining where and how these models can be used with confidence. As AI is enabled to make decisions and take actions, both technical and moral dilemmas will occur that are best reconciled by a human.
Biography
George Voneiff has forty years of oil and gas experience, primarily in unconventional reservoirs. He founded, built, and sold several E&P companies in the US and Canada, including MGV Energy Inc. which discovered and developed the Horseshoe Canyon CBM play in Alberta. He teaches graduate-level Petroleum Engineering classes at Texas A&M University, and is SVP Unconventional Solutions at Datagration Solutions Inc. Honors include the Texas A&M Petroleum Engineering Academy of Distinguished Graduates (2013), the Sproule Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Society for Unconventional Gas (2005), the #1 Company in the Texas A&M Mays Business School Aggie 100 (2005), and Finalist/runner-up in the Ernst & Young Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year (2004).
Voneiff’s qualifications include the invention of the Moving Domain process, an early production-based AI workflow used to optimize infill development of tight rock plays, the design of several economics-based AI workflows to optimize capital efficiency, and the use of AI workflows as a decision-maker for significant drilling, completion and development capital programs. This dual experience of both the technical and C-Suite perspectives provides tactical and strategic insights into the evolving AI application in our industry.
