[epilogue]

The writer seems to describe very basic data mining in some cases, which in itself is a form of AI/ML, but then other examples have no relevance to needing to use AI/ML at all.

If their data is already clean enough for SQL queries to work reliably and they are familiar with the SQL syntax, why not look into things such as DMX in MSSQL to make predictions on what these customers are likely to want to buy. This solves the whole marketing breast pumps to a man who bought sneakers scenario, while it also providing more personalized recommendations.

If your current technique is to send an email about sneakers to recent sneaker purchasers, do you really thing they are in the market for another pair?

Sure, it might not make sense to implement a deep learning neural network just to send something like a semi-personal marketing email but their are so many varying levels of AI/ML that seem to get ignored in favor of the flavor of the month Tensorflow/IBM Watson/Whatever else. Quite frankly, the whole thing just comes across as a very closed minded rant from someone who isn't interested in exploring what new technologies are capable of.