Everybody from Facebook to Microsoft to President Barack Obama thinks that chat bots -- robots you talk to like humans in apps like Facebook Messenger or Microsoft's Skype -- are the future. As showcased by the relative success of gadgets like the Amazon Echo and digital agents like Apple's Siri or Microsoft's Cortana, we're at the precipice of a new kind of computing, where you can use your natural language skills to get stuff done. The problem is chat bots these days kind of stink out. It's often harder to get stuff done with a chat bot than it is with the suite of apps and websites to which we've become accustomed. Meanwhile, Microsoft's Tay Twitter bot had a high-profile meltdown, showing how far AI still has to go.

Chalenge Masekera BIG data, data science, data mining, machine learning and artificial intelligence are currently buzzwords in the world of technology. So what is the hype all about and what does this mean for business in Zimbabwe? By adopting data science businesses stand a chance to be able to understand and predict customer behaviour and system processes in simple and faster ways. Broadly, data science refers to the use and conversion of data into knowledge and actionable insights. All these industries that embraced ICTs some years ago and record their transactional data daily in computer systems are prime candidates for data science.

Machine learning security offers many advantages over signature-based detection, but the technology can be as difficult to explain as it is for malware to beat. During an interview with SearchSecurity, Brett Hansen, executive director of data security solutions at Dell, offered insight into his company's investment in machine learning security and its partnership with advanced threat protection startup Cylance Inc. In part one of the interview, Hansen discussed the problems with traditional antivirus and antimalware programs relying on signature-based detection methods. In part of two of the interview, Hansen talks about the advantages of machine learning for smaller businesses, why it's a struggle to discuss the technology behind it, and how machine learning security serves as a better defense against ransomware attacks and other emerging threats. Here are excerpts from the conversation with Hansen. Is the move to machine learning security more about the shortcomings with signature-based detection and the frustrations people have had with it, or the benefits and value of machine learning?

One of the biggest problems in solving poverty worldwide is the scarcity of reliable data in developing countries. Researchers have sought to address this by combining satellite imagery with artificial intelligence to identify impoverished areas from space, the BBC reports. A team from Stanford University trained a computer system and surveyed information in five African countries. Researchers Neal Jean, Marshall Burke, and their colleagues say this method could go a long way in tracking and targeting poverty in specific countries. Burke, an assistant professor of Earth system science at Stanford, says, "The World Bank, which keeps the poverty data, has for a long time considered anyone who is poor to be someone who lives on below 1 a day."

If you thought that eBay was the place you went to just to sell off that laserdisc collection you haven't watched for ten years, it turns out you're only part right. Far from tagging itself as something catchy like'the biggest yard sale on the Internet' (go ahead, eBay, you can use it), it now decides that it really wants to join the cool kids and get into this whole machine learning stuff. It has acquired a company called SalesPredict (you'll never guess what they do!) for the catchy figure of'an undisclosed sum'. So why is eBay doing this? Well, according to venturebeat it is to improve their artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science efforts.

If you thought that eBay was the place you went to just to sell off that laserdisc collection you haven't watched for ten years, it turns out you're only part right. Far from tagging itself as something catchy like'the biggest yard sale on the Internet' (go ahead, eBay, you can use it), it now decides that it really wants to join the cool kids and get into this whole machine learning stuff. It has acquired a company called SalesPredict (you'll never guess what they do!) for the catchy figure of'an undisclosed sum'. So why is eBay doing this? Well, according to venturebeat it is to improve their artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science efforts.

You can't offend a bot. Most of them don't have enough of a personality to be offended. Not only that, few of the bots available today are smart enough to debate with anyone. There are plenty of bot development tools, an immense amount of venture capital, and a massive number of bots. But no one wants to speak to a dumbot.

In the not too distant future the smartphone of a farmer in India will not only track the weather forecasts but perhaps advise him on the next best action to take if the weather turns inclement. It might even go a step ahead and help him make a decision on locking up the best future price for his produce. A smart fishing app will learn from the past performance of fishing trips on the high seas to guide Indian fishermen on improving their catch while an intelligent learning app will coach Indian students to cope better for competitive examinations. A clever tax collection app will help the government detect sophisticated methods of tax evasion while a subsidy app will better target benefits to those who need them the most, helping plug leakages. All of these have a chance of becoming a reality in the next decade, given the recent advances in artificial intelligence if only we in India wake up and get our act right.

In 2009, Intel gave up on developing Larrabee, a homegrown discrete GPU, targeted at PC gaming systems. Now, some analysts are questioning whether Intel needs its own high-performance GPU, a driving force behind the fast-growing gaming, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence markets. GPUs aren't a big presence at the ongoing Intel Developer Forum, which is centered around the chip maker's A.I. and VR strategy. Intel is highlighting its CPUs and FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays) for those categories, and the lack of a GPU to chase the hot markets could be a hole in the company's product line. Intel has never been a leader in graphics, and it hasn't aggressively competed in the area, like Nvidia and AMD have.

Machine learning is a top priority, but there's also space for the system to be applied in the field of planning and scheduling -- perhaps not the most … Mojtaba Arvin is a computer programmer who's fascinated by artificial intelligence . Right now, he spends his time as an information technology student .