When we include the unprecedented computing power offered by the cloud, it's clear we are living in an exciting era for building applications. When IBM Watson defeated the two Jeopardy champions back in 2011, it opened a new era in the practical application of Artificial Intelligence technology and contributed to the growing research and interest in this field. IBM Watson has evolved from being a game show winning question & answering computer system to a set of enterprise-grade artificial intelligence (AI) application program interfaces (API) available on IBM Cloud. These Watson APIs can ingest, understand & analyze all forms of data, allow for natural forms of interactions with people, learn, reason – all at a scale that allows for business processes and applications to be reimagined. This course is intended for business and technical users who want to learn more about the cognitive capabilities of IBM Watson Discovery service.

Look out Nuance Communications(s nuan), there's a new speech recognition player in town. Nuance can't simply buy up this potential competitor as it has in the past since this company happens to be AT&T(s t). Ma Bell has taken the locks off of its Watson speech application programming interfaces (APIs), allowing any developer to access them. AT&T promised in April to open Watson up to general development, but on Monday AT&T SVP for technology and network operations John Donovan made the launch official in a blog post, revealing seven different "contexts," or language libraries, that app builders can access to speechify their products. Like Nuance, AT&T has developed specific taxonomies for specific use cases, allowing its servers to anticipate the words and phrasing consumers are likely to speak in a particular context.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are using predictive algorithms to determine a ... [ ] customer's lifecycle in social media One of the biggest challenges brands face today when utilizing social media is finding the right influencer to align with – and while a "wrong" choice likely won't hurt a brand in most cases, it could be more of a wasted effort. However, in a worst case scenario working with the wrong influencer can have a detrimental impact on a brand. According to a survey conducted by Salesforce Research last year, 92% of consumers surveyed report that trusting a brand makes them more likely to buy products and services. In addition, nearly a third – 32% – of consumers also said that the influencer's core values should also align with that of the consumer's. While human marketing teams can comb through the social media feeds of influencers for past posts to judge appropriateness as well as effectiveness, which can be a time consuming endeavor, and could still miss something important.

I have been writing code for a number of years now, but was finally bitten by the AI bug in 2016. A thrill of excitement ran through me as I ran demos of applications that were powered by AI. Seeing the potential and value of how AI could change our lives, I was convinced that AI was the future, only to find out later that I was wrong. AI had been a part of my life all along. It had worn several clothes like People You May Know on Facebook, autocorrect while I typed on my phone, Siri, and so many others.

Every day presents a new challenge, and with it, innovative solutions. As a Software Developer at BlueChasm, I work on building enterprise solutions that harness the power of IBM's AI technologies to revolutionize the way that our clients run their businesses. BlueChasm is a digital development company that works on building and running open digital and AI platforms. We use AI technologies to help clients solve problems with solutions that easily integrate into their workflows. We know that if you have a problem, you're looking for solutions that avoid creating new problems associated with implementation.

February 15, 2017 Written by: Susan C. Daffron The team at iTrend wanted to help their clients get more from their unstructured data, which led them to work with IBM. Using IBM Watson APIs, iTrend distills massive volumes of unstructured client data and turns it into information they can use in real time. Using a combination of Watson APIs, iTrend built a platform that delivers intelligent observations based on a client's business and its products. This solution helps their clients better understand customers, expand into new markets and discover new revenue streams. The solution provides their clients with a list of issues that they can address to achieve a particular outcome, such as increasing sales.

One of the world's most disruptive industries is voice services. Once dominated by a few large and established players, new innovations in Internet Protocol (IP) communication technologies are making it easier for non-telecom businesses--including software and hardware companies--to compete effectively. To be successful, however, it's not enough for these challengers to have a great idea. They must also be able to focus their efforts on what they do best and get their solutions to market quickly. Level 7 Systems is one such startup.

March 8, 2017 Written by: Susan C. Daffron According to a recent survey conducted by IBM, 66 percent of organizations would like to create more digital, personalized experiences.1 For companies seeking ways to deepen relationships with individuals without the upfront costs, delays, and staffing challenges associated with conventional methods, cognitive application programming interfaces (APIs) offer a promising alternative. The IBM Watson suite of cognitive APIs are backed by advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Using these APIs, developers can quickly and easily build applications that understand, reason, learn and interact naturally with people. Organizations often wonder what they can do with cognitive APIs focused on individual insights.

Watson is a cognitive computing technology that can think and learn like a human. With Watson, you can analyze and interpret all of your data, including unstructured documents (like emails, social media posts, images, videos and documents). Watson isn't programmed like other computers. It can form hypotheses, and tell you how confident it is in its recommendations so people can make better decisions that lead to better outcomes. It can ingest huge amounts of information, and it learns each time you interact with it, building expertise over time, just like humans.

As part of IBM's annual InterConnect conference in Las Vegas, the company is announcing a new machine learning course in partnership with workspace and education provider Galvanize to familiarize students with IBM's suite of Watson APIs. These APIs simplify the process of building tools that rely on language, speech and vision analysis. Going by the admittedly clunky name IBM Cognitive Course, the class will spend four weeks teaching the basics of machine learning and Watson's capabilities. Students will be able to take the class directly within IBM's Bluemix cloud platform. "Not everyone knows what to do with a Watson API," says Bryson Koehler, CTO of IBM Watson & IBM Cloud.