Naralogics: Understanding Decisions with Neural Networks

Always interested in how to represent and use models of decisions, especially how they are driven by data.   Today heard a talk by Nathan Wilson of Naralogics on the topic.  They are having considerable success in modeling decision process via biologically inspired neural networks.  His slides.  Recording.    Looking to see how these might be placed in the average data science toolbox.

See their also their blog, which points to a sandbox effort for their methods.

Short non technical explanatory pdf about this associative network method is linked to.

Memory Implants for the Brain via Advisory Systems

I think we are some ways from being able to do this, at least in the sense it can be connected directly to the brain. Perhaps sooner as an external interface that forms a 'remembrance engine'.  Search engines by themselves already do this to a degree.  Perhaps they can be augmented to do it better.   Beyond the military, It has also been suggested for Alzheimer therapy.  Essentially it can be seen as an advisory system based on context.    In Military.com: 

" ... Now, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) wants to expand on that cutting-edge work to build other potential breakthrough medical technologies, including a pacemaker-sized device that might someday improve the memory of troops who suffered a traumatic brain injury. Think of it as a hard drive of sorts for the brain.  ... "

Saffron Technology Advances in Associative Memories

New developments from Saffron Technology, often mentioned here, implementer of innovative machine learning techniques. See more about their Natural Intelligence Platform. And current Press release:   Previously about Saffron.

" ... Cary, NC, March 20, 2014 – Saffron Technology, a cognitive systems company helping Fortune 1000 businesses understand the value of transforming disconnected data into actionable knowledge, today announced that it has closed a $7 million Series B investment round. Funds are earmarked to accelerate business growth, including opening new global headquarters in Silicon Valley.

“Data becomes infinitely more powerful when you tie together its meaning from a multiplicity of disparate sources. Our patented Natural Intelligence Platform unifies all kinds of data – structured and unstructured – in real time, from a large variety of sources and continuously learns about the things in the data without the need for pre-determined rules or models,” said Gayle Sheppard, Saffron Technology CEO. “Now you can automatically see converging and other patterns to anticipate outcomes and prepare to act. These capabilities, combined with our customers’ success with Saffron, position us well for growth. With this additional funding, we will expand customer-centric next generation service teams, build a strong brand presence, create scalability across our business, and establish a Silicon Valley headquarters in spring 2014.” ... "

Memories are Geotagged

In KurzweilAI:   Memories may be geotagged with spatial information about the location where the information was acquired.   Applications to retail engagement?  Is this just in games?  Quite a remarkable finding on the surface of it.   The ultimately associative memory?   " ... “These findings provide the first direct neural evidence for the idea that the human memory system tags memories with information about where and when they were formed and that the act of recall involves the reinstatement of these tags,” said Michael Kahana, professor of psychology in Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences. ... " 

Associative Memories for Complex Data

Saffron Technology provides a new whitepaper  (some registration required).  I worked with Saffron, and they have unique views of complex data that are worth examining.  A Distributed Associative Memory Base for Natural Intelligence  ... The main focus of big data analytics is moving beyond traditional databases toward cognitive computing platforms. The things that define a cognitive computing platform are the same things that define the way humans think and learn, in real time, with no rules or models required, always learning, using associations to see patterns of connection and similarity, anticipating what will happen next so we can prepare and respond.... " 

Saffron Associative Memories

http://www.slideshare.net/paulhofmann/big-data-and-saffron

http://saffrontech.com/

Experience in the Data

Apply Your Experience.
Saffron Technology wants to put your data to work under a completely new approach to data analytics: Experience Management.

The way we see it, countless worlds of Experience are hidden in your data. And they’re all just waiting to be applied toward solving even your toughest business challenges.

Saffron developed the first commercially available, large-scale Associative Memory Base product – the Saffron Natural Intelligence Platform – creating a new generation of data analysis for everyone. With it, you can access, control and manage all of the Experience that’s naturally occurring in your data, but which you may not even have known is in there. You can analyze it, learn from it, remember it and leverage it, all across your business.

Saffron is Cool Vendor

I have mentioned Saffron Technology a number of times in this blog. Visited them first about four years ago and have had recent conversations. An announcement today: ' ... a privately held data analytics software firm providing Experience Management solutions for business and government, today announced that it has been selected by Gartner, Inc. analysts as one of its “Cool Vendors in Information Infrastructure for Enterprise Information Management, 2010.... '.