Cognitive Computing

- Overview

Cognitive computing (CC) describes technology platforms that, broadly speaking, are based on the scientific disciplines of artificial intelligence (AI) and signal processing. These platforms encompass machine learning, reasoning, natural language processing, speech recognition and vision (object recognition), human–computer interaction, dialog and narrative generation, among other technologies. 

At present, there is no widely agreed upon definition for cognitive computing in either academia or industry. In general, the term cognitive computing has been used to refer to new hardware and/or software that mimics the functioning of the human brain and helps to improve human decision-making. In this sense, CC is a new type of computing with the goal of more accurate models of how the human brain/mind senses, reasons, and responds to stimulus. CC applications link data analysis and adaptive page displays (AUI) to adjust content for a particular type of audience. As such, CC hardware and applications strive to be more affective and more influential by design.

- An Intelligent Future - The Rise of Cognitive Computing

The rise of cognitive computing (CC) promises to deliver a new era of humans and machines working side-by-side. The goal of CC is not to build machines that can think for themselves, but rather to build machines that can analyse vast amounts of information and learn along the way. 

A CC system can adapt and make sense of information – even input that is unstructured, such as images or natural speech. This makes it well suited to recognising and interpreting patterns, and giving them meaning. It knows that the typical human face has two eyes, a nose and a mouth and that these elements appear in certain places. So when a computer sees a pattern of shapes in that configuration it knows that it's probably a face. When it sees something new it's able to consider whether it's seen something similar before and determine whether this new thing fits into an existing group or whether it requires a new group in its knowledge base.

- How Cognitive Computing Works

Cognitive computing (CC) is the use of computerized models to simulate the human thought process in complex situations where the answers may be ambiguous and uncertain. The phrase is closely associated with IBM's cognitive computer system, Watson. Cognitive computing overlaps with AI and involves many of the same underlying technologies to power cognitive applications, including expert systems, neural networks, robotics and virtual reality (VR). 

Cognitive computing systems can synthesize data from various information sources, while weighing context and conflicting evidence to suggest the best possible answers. To achieve this, cognitive systems include self-learning technologies that use data mining, pattern recognition and natural language processing (NLP) to mimic the way the human brain works. 

(Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications)

- Practical Applications

AI, signal processing and machine learning are already behind many of the technologies we use today, from search engines to smartphone-based personal assistants. Combining them into cognitive computing isn't just a futuristic dream, neither is it hidden away in research labs. It's already out in the real world making a real difference to people's lives.

Another strength of cognitive computing is that we can teach it new skills and, just like a person, it can improve over time as it learns from its mistakes. This capability for self-improvement is part of what makes cognitive computing such a powerful tool, already on show as IBM's Watson helps doctors determine the best treatments for cancer patients.

Another strength of cognitive computing is that we can teach it new skills and, just like a person, it can improve over time as it learns from its mistakes. This capability for self-improvement is part of what makes cognitive computing such a powerful tool, already on show as IBM's Watson helps doctors determine the best treatments for cancer patients.  

The Following outlines the types of use cases:

• Speech recognition

• Sentiment analysis

• Face detection

• Risk assessment

• Fraud detection

• Behavioral recommendations

- A New Era of Business. A New Era of Technology. A New Era of Thinking.

The Cognitive Era brings with it a fundamental change in how systems are built and interact with humans. Cognitive solutions are already unclogging city traffic, improving emergency services, making food supplies safer and improving customer engagement. But this is just the beginning. It's time to outthink what is achievable.

While CC has applications for every field The impact it will have on medicine will be huge. About 8,000 clinical trials are published around the world each day, more than any one person could hope to read, but CC can act as a powerful research assistant – not only crunching the data but also looking for patterns and learning as it goes. 

If I'm an oncologist and I know that this cancer patient had a tumour, I can look around the world for similar patients with similar tumours and help determine the best treatment for my patient. As the doctor I can base my treatment decisions on the experience of millions of people, thanks to CC. Whatever field you're working in, CC is all about assisting you to do a better job and helping you to be the best you can be.

[More to come ...]