It is no doubt that the sub-field of machine learning / artificial intelligence has increasingly gained more popularity in the past couple of years. As Big Data is the hottest trend in the tech industry at the moment, machine learning is incredibly powerful to make predictions or calculated suggestions based on large amounts of data. Some of the most common examples of machine learning are Netflix's algorithms to make movie suggestions based on movies you have watched in the past or Amazon's algorithms that recommend books based on books you have bought before. So if you want to learn more about machine learning, how do you start? For me, my first introduction is when I took an Artificial Intelligence class when I was studying abroad in Copenhagen. My lecturer is a full-time Applied Math and CS professor at the Technical University of Denmark, in which his research areas are logic and artificial, focusing primarily on the use of logic to model human-like planning, reasoning and problem solving.

All the different programming languages out there seem to be a better fit for machine learning tasks than Ruby, right? Python has scikit-learn, Java has Weka, and there's Shogun for machine learning in C, just to name a few. On the other hand, Ruby has an excellent reputation for fast prototyping. In this tutorial, we will build a system that can automatically categorize BBC sports articles for you. Oh, and we'll do it in Ruby,OK?

Since January 2015 Christian Bubenheim has been Senior Vice President Marketing & Product of AutoScout24. Before that he was part of the management team of Amazon Deutschland GmbH and responsible for the business unit „Consumables" including health & beauty as well as foods. From 2003 to 2008 he was General Manager for the worldwide end consumer business and the product marketing of Thales Magellan, a worldwide leading manufacturer of GPS devices. AutoScout24 is all about empowerment. We put people center stage. Our mission is to empower and support users in successfully buying and selling cars.

Big data is in many ways still a wild frontier, requiring wily smarts and road-tested persistence on the part of those hoping to find insight in all the petabytes. On Tuesday, IBM announced a new platform it hopes will make things easier. Dubbed Project DataWorks, the new cloud-based platform is the first to integrate all types of data and bring AI to the table for analytics, IBM said. Project DataWorks is available on IBM's Bluemix cloud platform and aims to foster collaboration among the many types of people who need to work with data. Tapping technologies including Apache Spark, IBM Watson Analytics and the IBM Data Science Experience launched in June, the new offering is designed to give users self-service access to data and models while ensuring governance and rapid-iteration capabilities.

While scientists and sci-fi writers alike have been speculating and experimenting with AI for decades, the emergence of the current spectrum of artificially intelligent machines and software has perhaps been driven by one factor more than any other – the overwhelming abundance of data that organisations of all types have to deal with today. The sheer weight of data available to businesses and other entities is simply beyond the scope of human operators to sort, analyse and utilise. But with the advent of artificial intelligence and machine learning, we now have the tools available to not only deal with this data, but to properly utilise it to deliver business insights and efficiencies. This is as true in human resources as in any other sphere of business. Recruitment, in particular, is an area in which many HR professionals feel there is considerable scope for improvement.

Major technology firms are racing to infuse smartphones and other internet-linked devices with software smarts that help them think like people. The effort is seen as an evolution in computing that allows users to interact with machines in natural conversation style, telling devices to tend to tasks such as ordering goods, checking traffic, making restaurant reservations or searching for information. The artificial intelligence (AI) component in these programs aims to make create a world in which everyone can have a virtual aide that gets to know them better with each interaction. Google is making a high-profile push into AI, with the internet titan's chief referring to it as a force for change as powerful as powerful as smartphones. Google Assistant software is being built into new Pixel handsets -- aiming to outdo Apple's Siri -- enabling users to organize and use information on the devices and in the cloud -- to check emails, stay up to date on calendar appointments, news or ask for traffic and weather data.

How does one of the largest players in global travel view the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence? As the tech world salivates over its game-changing potential, Expedia Inc. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company plans to first use artificial intelligence for customer service rather than for something like trip-planning. "For me to be able to message Expedia on [Facebook] Messenger or text … 'cancel my hotel booking in New York next week,' it is a much more delightful experience than calling or even my getting on the website etc.," Khosrowshahi said at Skift Global Forum in New York City last month. While leisure travelers might take on average perhaps just one or two vacations annually, artificial intelligence isn't practical at this point for travel research and planning because artificial intelligence needs huge amounts of data to work, Khosrowshahi argued. "We are going to take it on the service side," Khosrowshahi told the audience last month in a session with online travel founders.

Can human consciousness be replicated or fabricated by science? The play, which continues through Oct. 23, is a timely offering for those whose interest in artificial intelligence was piqued by another recent production on a Boston-area stage. Many of the themes explored in "Uncanny Valley" are similar to those explored in The Nora Theatre Company's production of "Marjorie Prime," which has just completed its run at the Central Square Theater in Cambridge. And just like "Marjorie Prime," this play didn't quite seem to close a dramatic circuit around the idea of self-aware machines. "Uncanny Valley" fails to close the gap between the intrigue of core questions about human (artificial or otherwise) identity and tangible insights regarding those questions.

China's biggest search engine -- introduced an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot on Tuesday to connect with patients, field medical questions and suggest diagnoses to doctors. The company is calling the bot -- a new feature of the Baidu Doctor app it launched last year -- Melody the medical assistant. Baidu has developed advanced deep learning and natural language processing technologies to power Melody's artificially intelligent "brain." The bot is designed to be the first port of call for a person feeling sick at home. A patient poses a health query to Melody, which responds in real time with further questions, and compares responses with Baidu's database of medical information.

This 4-foot-tall robot with a tablet for a chest may soon find its way to a big-box store near you. Omar Abdelwahed, Head of Studio at SoftBank Robotics America, demos the capabilities of a humanoid robot, called Pepper, which is supposed to help customers shop in stores. SAN FRANCISCO – The four-foot tall robot whirling around the new offices of SoftBank Robotics America could well be your big-box store greeter of the near future. "Hi, I'm Pepper," says the sentient hunk of whirling white plastic and blinking lights. That remains to be seen.