Your brain is a strange three-pound lump in your head that also happens to determine your personality, control your movements, and hold all of your hopes and dreams. Neuroscientists have been mapping the brain for centuries to try to tease apart its inner workings. But people are complicated, and so are brains--intricate bits of biology packed with neurons and axons and all the synapses that tie them together. That hasn't stopped neuroscientists from trying. Just like regular maps, brain maps are useful points of reference.

I think there's a rule somewhere that says "You can't call yourself a data scientist until you've used a Naive Bayes classifier". This article is my attempt at laying the groundwork for Naive Bayes in a practical and intuitive fashion. Let's start with a problem to motivate our formulation of Naive Bayes. Suppose we own a professional networking site similar to LinkedIn. Users sign up, type some information about themselves, and then roam the network looking for jobs/connections/etc. Until recently, we only required users to enter their current job title, but now we're asking them what industry they work in.

Recent advances in deep learning have enabled research and industry to master many challenges in computer vision and natural language processing that were out of reach until just a few years ago. Yet computer vision and natural language processing represent only the tip of the iceberg of what is possible. In this article, I will demonstrate how Sebastian Heinz, Roland Vollgraf and I (Calvin Seward) used deep neural networks in steering operations at Zalando's fashion warehouses. As Europe's leading online fashion retailer, there are many exciting opportunities to apply the latest results from data science, statistics, and high-performance computing. Zalando's vertically integrated business model means that I have dealt with projects as diverse as computer vision, fraud detection, recommender systems and, of course, warehouse management.

The age of computers is over. You are now living in the age of intelligent processing by just about everything else. Like vacuum tubes and tape drives, desktops and laptops are on their way to becoming odd relics of a distant age, if people remember them at all. That may sound a bit extreme, but the fact is that applications are not married to any technological substrate, not even the most advanced mobile devices. That is why smart developers have already turned their attention to using JavaScript for building out next-generation technology like drone controllers, big data management tools, and connectors for the Internet of Things (IoT). The World After Web Apps In Fabio Nelli's "Beginning JavaScript Charts: With jqPlot, d3, and Highcharts," he starts off by saying "JavaScript is experiencing a rebirth as a result of the new libraries developed precisely to take advantage of the innovation introduced by HTML5."

Macy's is testing a mobile tool using artificial intelligence that lets shoppers get answers customized to the store they're in -- like where a particular brand is located or what's in stock -- that they would normally ask a sales associate face-to-face. The tool, which the nation's largest department store chain calls a "mobile companion," can be accessed for now through a browser and will accept questions in 10 U.S. locations about products, services and facilities. It uses natural language and offers feedback in seconds. It's developed by IBM Watson -- the Jeopardy-winning "cognitive computing" service and is designed to keep learning more about the store's customers. That's a key element as Macy's seeks to spur sluggish sales, make being at the store more enjoyable and distinguish itself from online portals and specialty retailers.

The idea of managing human capacity is fundamental to how firms move forward with their organization strategy. What a sustainable philosophy requires is the open recognition of a changing workforce, and the understanding that even the ability to manage human capacity needs to be supplemented with an open mind and forward thinking. Artificial Intelligence (AI), computerization, and automation, devalue certain human skills, and in time will completely overhaul the job market. At this point it will be our uniquely human potential that is valued in workplace. Working with human strengths and deficiencies in order to get the best out of your company is going to be a defining aspect of keeping up with the pace of innovation and change in the next few decades.

Developments in artificial intelligence, robotics, and biotechnology, would disrupt the business world in a similar way to previous industrial revolutions, the World Economic Forum said in a report published Monday. Administrative and white collar office jobs are most at risk from a "fourth industrial revolution," the forum said on the eve of its annual meeting in Davos this week. The impact of the tech revolution is the central topic of this year's gathering of the world's leaders and major business figures in the Swiss mountain resort. The forum surveyed senior executives from over 350 of the biggest companies in 15 of the world's major emerging and developed economies. Together, those economies account for 65% of the global workforce.

Macy's is testing a mobile tool using artificial intelligence that lets shoppers get answers customized to the store they're in -- like where a particular brand is located or what's in stock -- that they would normally ask a sales associate face-to-face. The tool, which the nation's largest department store chain calls a "mobile companion," can be accessed for now through a browser and will accept questions in 10 U.S. locations about products, services and facilities. It uses natural language and offers feedback in seconds. It's developed by IBM Watson -- the Jeopardy-winning "cognitive computing" service and is designed to keep learning more about the store's customers. That's a key element as Macy's seeks to spur sluggish sales, make being at the store more enjoyable and distinguish itself from online portals and specialty retailers.

Rob High is an IBM Fellow, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, IBM Watson. He has overall responsibility to drive Watson technical strategy and thought leadership. As a key member of the Watson Leadership team, Rob works collaboratively with the Watson engineering, research, and development teams across IBM. Rob High will be speaking on the subject of artificial intelligence at Gigaom Change Leaders Summit in Austin, September 21-23rd. In anticipation of that, I caught up with him to ask a few questions about AI and it's potential impact on the business world.