In just few years, case-based reasoning has evolved from a research topic studied at a small number of specialized academic labs into an industrial-strength technology applied in various fields. The INRECA methodology presented in detail in this monograph provides a data analysis framework for developing case-based reasoning solutions for successful applications in real-world industrial contexts. The book provides a self-contained introduction to case-based reasoning applications that address both R&D professionals and general IT managers interested in this powerful new technology. In this second edition, improvements and updates have been incorporated throughout the text. Particularly useful is the systematic coverage of experience factory applications at various steps; and, of course, the references have been extended substantially.

Data scientists have a lot of tools at their disposal, but not all of them are equally accessible. Aiming to put IBM's Watson AI within closer reach, analytics firm Columbus Collaboratory on Thursday released a new open-source R extension called CognizeR. R is an open-source language that's widely used by data scientists for statistical and analytics applications. Previously, data scientists would have had to exit R to tap Watson's capabilities, coding the calls to Watson's application programming interfaces (APIs) in another language, such as Java or Python. Now, CognizeR lets them tap into Watson's so-called "cognitive" artificial-intelligence services without leaving their native development environment.

I have seen the future, and it is a world of unparalleled convenience, untold marketing opportunities, and zero privacy. IBM held an event in San Francisco Thursday to show off new capabilities in Watson, it's artificial intelligence system that's being made available to developers to let them build smarter, "cognitive" applications. To set the futuristic tone, IBM invited Peter Diamandis, founder of the nonprofit X Prize Foundation, which humbly describes itself as "a catalyst for the benefit of humanity." To give you an idea of Diamandis' interests, he said he is currently "prospecting" asteroids that he plans to mine for resources. He put the value of one asteroid at $5.4 trillion.

IBM has upgraded its Watson Discovery Advisor data analysis service so it can answer your questions before you even ask. The updated Watson Discovery Advisor can examine a body of data and identify trends, correlations and other points of interest for researchers, IBM said. The service will provide you leads "when you don't know the question to ask, and for when you want to uncover and discover in the data new insights and patterns," said Steve Gold, IBM vice president for the Watson platform. Many fields of expertise could benefit from the service, particularly those that collect large amounts of data that require analysis, such as law, medicine and finance, he said. "It turns out there is a huge appetite in industry for this type of capability," Gold said.

"Although Watson is a tremendous engineering achievement, there are some things it can't do," said Patrick Henry Winston, a professor and former director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. "For example, if there was a conference about Watson, Watson couldn't attend. It would have nothing to say about itself. It can't participate in discussions about how it works." Winston was among dozens of researchers who spoke at MIT's Computation and the Transformation of Practically Everything symposium, which is part of the school's 150-year anniversary celebration this year.

Early indications suggest that Watson will be favored in its competition against Jennings and Rutter since the supercomputer already beat its opponents in a practice round in January. But Watson is not an unstoppable machine and does have its weaknesses, especially if the clue involves a high degree of wordplay or ambiguity. It's anybody's guess who will win tonight, but in honor of what may be Watson's intellectual triumph over humanity, here is a look at the rise of the supercomputer in human history. Watson is seen as a giant leap forward in artificial intelligence because to play Jeopardy it had to understand and answer English language questions using idioms and common expressions. This is unlike previous computers, which required specific input keywords before they could respond to human speech.

Watson, IBM Corp.'s supercomputer that famously competed on the television show "Jeopardy," is coming West. The technology giant said Thursday it planned to open a second headquarters in San Francisco early next year for the project, which represents one of the most advanced investments in artificial intelligence. The move, which includes giving developers access to Watson's technologies, will help IBM connect with data scientists and start-ups in Silicon Valley. "Since introducing the Watson development platform, thousands of people have used these technologies in new and inventive ways, and many have done so without extensive experience as a coder or data scientist," Mike Rhodin, senior vice president for IBM Watson, said in a statement. "We believe that by opening Watson to all, and continuously expanding what it can do, we are democratizing the power of data, and with it innovation."

Interested in the research on machine learning and time-series analysis algorithms able to process big data in an efficient, adaptive, and robust way. Currently focused on their application to Cognitive Stimulation and Rehabilitation (see Innobrain and Cognitio projects) and Autism Spectrum Disorders (see AMATE project). Another topic of my interest is the use of Machine Learning techniques to reason and learn about musical processes like expressive music generation. Currently focused on the study of musical expressivity in Nylon Guitars (see guitarLab) and social tools for music education (see PRAISE). We have studied the issue of expressiveness in the context of tenor saxophon interpretations (see Saxex and TempoExpress systems) in collaboration with the Music Technology Group (UPF).

Next year's ICCBR conference has been announced!

That's a true partnership between humans and AI. Watson takes information that people produce, considers a variety of factors and provides knowledge that is then used to help a human doctor do their job better. But Watson is not a replacement for an actual doctor.