Information overload is a fact of modern life, creating a tyranny of choice often resulting in analysis paralysis. Too many options makes it difficult to understand any one option deeply enough to make an informed decision. That's a problem, because the whole point of Ubiquitous Computing – a term coined by Xerox PARC in the 80s to represent a dream of the time – was to make our lives and businesses better and more efficient. Thankfully, amid the enormity of data lies the means to manage it. Our computing infrastructure has now reached a level of data and connectivity where it's possible for computers to recognize patterns and prioritize options, so it's easier for humans to make informed decisions.

Google's DeepMind is teaming up with the makers of the StarCraft video game to train its artificial intelligence systems. The AI systems "playing" the game will need to learn strategies similar to those that humans need in the real world, DeepMind said. Its ultimate aim is to develop artificial intelligence that could solve any problem. It has previously taught algorithms to play a range of Atari computer games. StarCraft II, made by developer Blizzard, is a real-time strategy game in which players control one of three warring factions - humans, insects or alien elves.

Customers are getting more and more accustomed to technology and are starting to have higher expectations. In the last few years, companies have been trying to integrate more artificial intelligence (AI) into their businesses but haven't been succeeding to the expectations of customers. Now, however, the AI experience is increasing dramatically allowing for more apps and programs to assist your customers. Even Bank of America has recently announced a new AI Chatbot named Erica to help you with your banking needs. About Bank of America's Erica Ercia, a play on the bank's name according to CNBC, will use artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, and cognitive messaging to communicate with customers through the new Bank of America app.

Customer Expectation: Launch AI Chatbots Customers are getting more and more accustomed to technology and are starting to have higher expectations. In the last few years, companies have been trying to integrate more artificial intelligence (AI) into their businesses but haven't been succeeding to the expectations of customers. Now, however, the AI experience is increasing dramatically allowing for more apps and programs to assist your customers. Even Bank of America has recently announced a new AI Chatbot named Erica to help you with your banking needs. Ercia, a play on the bank's name according to CNBC, will use artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, and cognitive messaging to communicate with customers through the new Bank of America app.

Data science is first and foremost a talent-based discipline and capability. Platforms, tools and IT infrastructure play an important but secondary role. Nevertheless, software and technology companies around the globe spend significant amounts of money talking business managers into buying or licensing their products which often times results in unsatisfying outcomes that do not come close to realizing the full potential of data science. Talent is key - but unfortunately very rare and hard to identify. If you are trying to hire a data scientist these days you are facing the serious risk of recruiting someone with the wrong or an insufficient skill set.

Blizzard made a very curious announcement about Starcraft II at BlizzCon 2016. Instead of a new expansion pack, the game is instead being opened up to Google's Deepmind project; and will teach the AI system how to play an RTS. Deepmind made headlines earlier this year when its AlphaGo AI managed to beat a world class Go player; a feat that was believed to be impossible. The number of possible actions in Go was originally thought to be too great for a computer to calculate within the time constraints of a professional match. Despite this, Deepmind pulled off a 4 – 1 victory over Lee Sedol.

Data science is fast becoming a critical skill for developers and managers across industries, and it looks like a lot of fun as well. But it's pretty complicated - there are a lot of engineering and analytical options to navigate, and it's hard to know if you're doing it right or where the bear traps lie. In this series we explore ways in to making sense of data science - understanding where it's needed and where it's not, and how to make it an asset for you, from people who've been there and done it. This InfoQ article is part of the series "Getting A Handle On Data Science" . You can subscribe to receive notifications via RSS. Enterprises are increasingly realising that many of their most pressing business problems could be tackled with the application of a little data science.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has signed on for a pair of Nvidia DGX-1 3U boxes to serve as a platform for applying machine learning to its science. Angus Macoustra, acting deputy CIO and executive manager for Scientific Computing at CSIRO, said the boxes would be used for medical image analysis, nano-material modelling, genome analysis, astronomy, and space science. In the realm of space science, Macoustra said machine learning can help with hunting for the signature of pulsars. "Two thirds of all known pulsars discovered in the world have actually been observed on the Parkes radio telescope, and CSIRO holds close to 40 years of data collected from that instrument," Macoustra said during the GTCx Australia conference on Tuesday. "Machine learning gives us mechanisms to interrogate that data and it is the belief of our scientists that there are still a number of unknown pulsars locked up in these data sets that span the past 40 years."

Have you ever been in a situation where knowing another language would have come in handy? I remember standing on the platform at Tokyo Station watching my train to Nagano -- the last train of the day -- pulling away without me on it. What ensued was a frustrating hour of gestures, confused smiles, and head-shaking as I wandered the station looking for someone who spoke English (my Japanese is unfortunately nonexistent). It would have been really helpful to have a bilingual pal along with me to translate. Bilingual pals can be hard to find, but Google's new translation software may be an equally useful alternative.

Dynamic programming is a technique that can yield relatively efficient solutions to computational problems in economics, genomic analysis, and other fields. But adapting it to computer chips with multiple "cores," or processing units, requires a level of programming expertise that few economists and biologists have. Researchers from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and Stony Brook University aim to change that, with a new system that allows users to describe what they want their programs to do in very general terms. It then automatically produces versions of those programs that are optimized to run on multicore chips. It also guarantees that the new versions will yield exactly the same results that the single-core versions would, albeit much faster.