For years, Microsoft has been delivering speedy and accurate Bing results with experimental servers called Project Catapult, which have now received an architectural upgrade. The Catapult servers use reprogrammable chips called FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), which are central to delivering better Bing results. FPGAs can quickly score, filter, rank, and measure the relevancy of text and image queries on Bing. Microsoft has now redesigned the original Catapult server, which is used to investigate the role of FPGAs in speeding up servers. The proposed Catapult v2 design is more flexible in circumventing traditional data-center structures for machine learning and expands the role of FPGAs as accelerators.

Facebook created an "empathy lab" where engineers can test products using accessibility tools such as braille readers or eye tracking devices. In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a standard view of how we would interact with a personal computer: we were sitting at a desk, with a monitor, a keyboard and a mouse. Today, computing is very different. We still use desktops, but we also have laptops, tablet computers, smart phones, and some of us even have wearable computers such as the Apple Watch. And that "we" includes people with disabilities, who are a part of this rich, flexible world of computing but access it differently.

Research firm Gartner periodically releases a "Hype Cycle," in which it attempts to show which technologies are just emerging, and which have plateaued. This year, its hype cycle highlights three technologies in particular: "transparently immersive experiences" (i.e., virtual- and augmented-reality systems), "the perceptual smart machine age" (hello, Internet of Things), and "the platform revolution" (i.e., apps, lots of apps). Gartner releases the "Hype Cycle" as a way for tech pros--including chief innovation officers, startup founders, and developers--to keep an eye on those technologies that haven't quite reached the mainstream-adoption stage, but will nonetheless prove critical to many businesses over the next several years. The Innovation Trigger When technologies emerge from the lab and start becoming popular. The Peak of Inflated Expectations In other words, when companies want to adopt said technologies.

How to get started with Knowledge Representation? Any high signal, low noise books and papers to recommend for getting into KR? I read Brachman's Knowledge Representation and Reasoning, but kept to the slides for the most part. Only thing I read, though, so it's hard to contrast.

When it comes to enterprise customer care, machine learning enables Virtual Assistant solutions to automate tasks that used to require a live agent: password resets; address and complex information collection; even sales support. Integrating machine learning into enterprise customer care opens doors to more flexible automated solutions. It also frees up live agents to focus on handling complex or revenue-generating tasks. With the growing challenges and volume of customer interactions that most companies' must handle, that flexibility, efficiency, and accuracy is exactly what's needed. With a little help and vetting from the IT department, the contact center can take enterprise customer care to the next level.

Get an introduction to machine learning using R, the open source, statistical programming language. Once a niche set of tools for statisticians, programmers and quants, machine learning (sometimes also called data mining or statistical learning) has spread in popularity to a wide variety of applications and disciplines. Learn practical aspects of machine learning so that you can apply lessons to solve problems using machine learning in your own careers and fields.

IBM is launching new TV ads this week during the U.S. Open, showing how artificial intelligence and cloud-based computing are technologies that are here today and transforming businesses. The tech giant is rolling out six new ads under two separate campaigns: "Watson in the World" for its artificial intelligence, or cognitive computing technology; and "IBM Cloud" for its cloud platform systems. "We want to position IBM as a cognitive solutions and cloud platform company, and show examples of how IBM is working with real clients today," said Ann Rubin, VP-branded content and global creative at IBM. "All businesses are becoming digital businesses with a strong cognitive element," she said. "With digital intelligence, you can do things you have never done before, and we are trying to show that in these spots." The ads were created by Ogilvy and Mather, and will run on ESPN and ESPN2 during live coverage of the U.S. Open tennis tournament.

A recent study found computer software was able to intuitively translate patient charts into diagnostic information with 99 percent accuracy at 30 times the speed of doctors.

In summer 2014, Apple completely changed how Siri works. The secretive Cupertino, California, company adapted Siri's voice recognition to use a cutting-edge artificial-intelligence technique called neural networks and switched it over on July 30, 2014, according to an in-depth feature by Steven Levy of Backchannel. Neural networks is a type of AI inspired by the human brain that has become especially useful thanks to today's powerful computers. Before that, Siri recognized human voices using more rudimentary AI techniques that have been around for decades. It was the biggest change to Siri since it launched in 2011.