When you first think of artificial intelligence (AI), you might envision a fully automated society in which robots serve our every need. Or you might imagine the disembodied voice of HAL, the recalcitrant computer that wouldn't open the pod-bay doors in "2001: A Space Odyssey," the renowned 1968 science-fiction film. But science fact is more practical, more affordable, and more widespread than Hollywood portrays. The Dedham, Massachusetts–based company has developed artificial intelligence technology that scans mountains of structured or unstructured documents. The engine of RAGE AI, as it's called, sorts through the data it ingests and provides analysis or interpretation of any patterns it discovers.

There are some human attributes robots could never replace - or at least that's what you might hope. But one university has brought that into question by replacing one of their teaching assistants with a machine. In February 2011, Watson appeared alongside two other contestants to compete for the cash prize. During the show, clues are given to contestants that'require analysis and understanding of subtle meaning, irony, riddles and other language complexities' that humans can perform naturally but computers, traditionally, do not. Watson had to be programmed to make decisions and conclusions in this way by a team of experts at IBM. Watson was given clues as electronic texts, as they were also asked to the human contestants.

Uber riders don't like surge pricing, but drivers do, and Uber seems to be of two minds about the subject. A top Uber engineer says the firm is working with machine learning to replace surge pricing, according to NPR. But Uber also says surge pricing is here to stay, at least until it starts using self-driving cars, as reported in TechCrunch. Are the engineer and Uber just bending meaning around the same fact? Or is Uber just trying to stay in its drivers' good graces while it presses forward with self-driving cars?

I found that the best way to discover and get a handle on the basic concepts in machine learning is to review the introduction chapters to machine learning textbooks and to watch the videos from the first model in online courses. Pedro Domingos is a lecturer and professor on machine learning at the University of Washing and author of a new book titled "The Master Algorithm: How the Quest for the Ultimate Learning Machine Will Remake Our World". Domingos has a free course on machine learning online at courser titled appropriately "Machine Learning". The videos for each module can be previewed on Coursera any time. In this post you will discover the basic concepts of machine learning summarized from Week One of Domingos' Machine Learning course.

The data science automation specialist DataRobot Inc. is gaining traction in the big data market for its machine-learning application as new investors like Intel Capital fund its expanding operations. Boston-based DataRobot has so far raised more than 57 million in four equity investment rounds, including a 33 million funding round completed in February. Along with Intel Capital, Recruit Strategic Partners joined the startup's fourth funding round as new investors. The company's machine-learning platform runs either on top of Hadoop as a cloud application or running on-premises. The startup founded in 2012 by CEO Jerry Achin and CTO Thomas DeGodoy targets its platform at data scientists with varying skill levels. Along with speeding the deployment of more accurate predictive models, the company said it is attempting to address the critical shortage of qualified data scientists while "changing the speed and economics of predictive analytics."

WIRE)--Accenture (NYSE:ACN) is expanding its machine learning and operations analytics capabilities by acquiring OPS Rules, a boutique analytics consulting company that specializes in the application of data science to create supply chain and operations analytics solutions. When the acquisition is completed, Accenture will add new operations analytics professionals to its team that apply machine learning and optimization techniques to develop fresh and innovative analytics approaches for clients across many industries. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 2012, OPS Rules has offices in Waltham, Massachusetts and Richardson, Texas. OPS Rules is led by David Simchi-Levi, a Professor of Engineering Systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and renowned supply chain and operations analytics expert.

Subaru and IBM Japan have announced the two companies are exploring collaboration in the development of a data analytics system for test images from the advanced safety system including output from EyeSight. It uses cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in the advanced driver assist system segment. Working together with IBM Japan, Subaru developed a system that integrates and comprehensively manages vast amounts of test image data. The system has been in operation starting this month. This will allow Subaru engineers to easily search for and analyze needed test images.

For years, machine learning has been used for image, video, and text recognition, as well as serving as the power behind recommendation engines. Today, it's being used to fortify cybersecurity, ensure public safety, and improve medical outcomes. It can also help improve customer service and make automobiles safer. "Machine learning allows you to look at volumes of data and do volumes of calculations that a person really can't do," said Lisa Dolev, founder and CEO of operational intelligence solutions provider Qylur, in an interview. Machine learning can identify patterns that humans tend to overlook or may be unable to find as fast in vast amounts of data.

If your mind instantly went to Skynet, I can put your mind at ease; it's not Skynet. That's not, however, to say that this problem isn't just as scary, only without the cool special effects. While Sci-Fi has made the risks of robot takeover well-known, the more immediate concerns are the subtle decisions being made by (sometimes) poorly coded, or designed, algorithms that can drastically alter each of our lives. Our biggest ever edition of TNW Conference is fast approaching! The Obama administration published a report this week that examines problems associated with the shift to an increasingly automated world.

One of the brains behind Apple's iconic digital assistant Siri, Dag Kittlaus, took to the stage today at TechCrunch Disrupt NYC to show off his new project, Viv -- an AI assistant that aims to be "the intelligent interface for everything." "Will it be warmer than 70-degrees near the Golden Gate Bridge after 5pm the day after tomorrow?" Our biggest ever edition of TNW Conference is fast approaching! Viv delivered the answer in a matter of seconds, and correctly handled numerous oddly specific questions that followed, as well as ordering flowers, sending money as payment for drinks the previous night and even booking a hotel in under 60 seconds. Throughout the demo, the AI assistant demonstrated a profound understanding of context and intent as Kittlaus rapid-fired commands in natural language.