Svetlana Alexievich, winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in literature, called the nuclear catastrophes at Chernobyl and Fukushima events that people cannot yet fully fathom and warned against the hubris that humans have the power to conquer nature. The 68-year-old Belarusian writer was in Tokyo at the invitation of researchers at the University of Tokyo, where she gave a lecture on Friday. More than 200 people attended. The Nobel laureate, who writes in Russian, is known for addressing dramatic and tragic events involving the former Soviet Union – World War II, the Soviet war in Afghanistan, the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster and the 1991 collapse of the communist state. Her style is distinctive in that she presents the testimonies of ordinary people going through traumatic experiences as they speak, without intruding on their narratives.

But deciding to build an app in the first place was driven by a broader purpose. As one doctor put it, "If you want to do world-class sociology research, build Facebook."

Here I offer a few off-the-beaten-path interesting problems that you won't find in textbooks, data science camps, or in college classes. These problems range from applied maths, to statistics and computer science, and are aimed at getting the novice interested in a few core subjects that most data scientists master. The problems are described in simple English and don't require math / stats / probability knowledge beyond high school level. My goal is to attract people interested in data science, but who are somewhat concerned by the depth and volume of (in my opinion) unnecessary mathematics included in many curricula. I believe that successful data science can be engineered and deployed by scientists coming from other disciplines, who do not necessarily have a deep analytical background yet are familiar with data.

Can you tell us a bit about MindMeld? MindMeld is a leading Conversational AI company, now offering Deep-Domain Conversational AI. The company has pioneered the AI technology behind the emerging generation of intelligent voice and chat assistants and currently powers advanced conversational experiences used by some of the world's largest media companies, government agencies, automotive manufacturers, and global retailers. MindMeld's customers and investors include Google, Samsung, Intel, Telefonica, Liberty Global, IDG, USAA, Uniqlo, Spotify, In-Q-Tel and others. What does Deep-Domain Conversational AI mean?

Why did I bother writing this? Well, here is one of the most trivial yet life-changing insights and worldly wisdoms from my former professor that has become my mantra ever since: "If you have to do this task more than 3 times just write a script and automate it." By now, you may have already started wondering about this blog. I haven't written anything for more than half a year! Okay, musings on social network platforms aside, that's not true: I have written something – about 400 pages to be precise. This has really been quite a journey for me lately. And regarding the frequently asked question "Why did you choose Python for Machine Learning?"

Why did I bother writing this? Well, here is one of the most trivial yet life-changing insights and worldly wisdoms from my former professor that has become my mantra ever since: "If you have to do this task more than 3 times just write a script and automate it." By now, you may have already started wondering about this blog. I haven't written anything for more than half a year! Okay, musings on social network platforms aside, that's not true: I have written something – about 400 pages to be precise. This has really been quite a journey for me lately. And regarding the frequently asked question "Why did you choose Python for Machine Learning?"

StartupSource's Liam Tracey-Raymont recently spoke with Andrew Arruda, CEO and co-founder of ROSS Intelligence Inc. ("ROSS"), to discuss ROSS's growth and to shed some light on the developmental timeline and hurdles associated with launching a tech startup. ROSS, initially developed in Canada and founded by University of Toronto ("U of T") students, is a cloud-based software program that assists users in answering legal questions efficiently and without relying on complicated boolean queries and keywords. While ROSS is still a relatively new product, it has quickly attracted significant media attention and immense interest from U.S. clients, which are predominantly law firms. Liam caught up with the ROSS CEO after Andrew returned to his new home in San Francisco, California, following a week on the road. Andrew, it's been a while. What have you been up to recently?

Most car company executives appear at the annual Los Angeles Auto Show to tout their brand's new vehicles or crow about its balance sheet. Ford Chief Executive Mark Fields came to town this year to give the kick-off keynote speech at AutoMobility L.A., the industry-only portion of the massive car show, and didn't discuss those things at all. Instead, he talked about the future of mobility, the "city of tomorrow" and how Ford is trying to find its place in a changing transportation landscape that -- confronting autonomous driving, connected cars and ride-sharing -- may soon have no place for traditional car companies. The following is an edited version of the conversation. Ford produces the F-150 truck, the most popular vehicle sold in America, but is also offering a hydrogen fuel cell Clarity and a line of plug-in hybrids.

The technology is complex and easy at the same time. The DNA of Aldebaran is maybe not to use the best technologies: If you look at those from Boston Dynamics or the ASIMO robot from Honda, they are wonderful robots. They can run, jump a wall, take glasses and give you drinks – but these machines are far from ready to enter the market and they cost millions of dollars. We believe that with current technology, we are capable of producing a robot that is able to move, able to interact and can go to market today even if it doesn't have the best motor. We use technology that is affordable and know how to make it work correctly.

Ritika Gunnar is vice president of offering management, data and analytics at IBM. She has also served as a software engineer and as vice president for information integration and governance in IBM's platform analytics group. In this exclusive interview with SearchCloudApplications, she discusses the evolution of the data science industry and the skills that developers must possess to flourish in a data-driven world. Bringing development and IT ops together can help you address many app deployment challenges. Our expert guide highlights the benefits of a DevOps approach. Explore how you can successfully integrate your teams to improve collaboration, streamline testing, and more.