Have you ever wanted something that you couldn’t have right away? Maybe it was a certain food, a favorite movie, or a new pair of shoes. Regardless, it was an itch that was never scratched. Welcome to the On-Demand Economy As people find out, it’s often difficult to satisfy a craving in the moment. Not in the new economy, however. Fast data is disrupting markets and economies around the world. Ordering a ride, paying a bill, and even buying a house can be done from your fingertips. It’s a world of possibilities in your pocket. In such a world, data...

Solving global issues takes global partnerships. That’s why addressing problems such as climate change are too complex for one person to figure out alone. There are just too many pieces to the puzzle: from climate data to governmental policies to public and private data collaboration. Climate action is the “elephant in the room”, a pressing issue that attracts many passionate thoughts and opinions. But, with all ideas on the table, it’s important to keep in mind the long-term health of our planet. If we avoid answering the call to protect our climate, then there might be unintended consequences. Clean the...

Data is an imperative part of helping us meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It will not only tell us if we’re on track to meeting these goals, but it also informs policies and solutions that will ensure we meet them. In celebration of Earth Day 2018, we sat down with Gayan Peiris,  digital strategist at the UN SDG Action Campaign, to find out what kind of Earth data he prefers. Gayan is an Enterprise Social Strategist with over 15 years of Information Technology and Knowledge Management leadership experience. He is recognized as a Technology Evangelist in designing and...

Data is the life-blood of today’s world. It’s informing everything from when to leave your house to make it to soccer practice on time, to guiding farmers on what and when to plant for best crop yields. In celebration of Earth Day 2018, we sat down with a notable climate scientist to find out what kind of Earth data he prefers. Daniel is a scientist at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) where he coordinates the Data-Driven Agronomy Community of Practice of the CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture. Daniel and his team help farmers use big data to...

What's the state of autonomous cars? To find out, the Autotech Council—a Silicon Valley-based ecosystem of automobile industry players—held an event on April 13th. The half-day event, hosted by Western Digital, brought together 300 leaders in the autonomous cars industry. We partnered with SiliconANGLE, a leading digital media platform, to spend a few minutes talking with a select group of these leaders. Chris Bergey is one of the busiest guys around in the autonomous cars space. When he’s not busy breaking down his company’s embedded automotive solutions, he’s driving adoption of mobile, compute, connected homes, smart cities, and industrial IoT...

It has been said that any technology sufficiently advanced will look like magic. In the 1960’s, a variety of television shows delighted and entertained their audiences with exotic technological devices and fanciful futuristic automated assistants that helped humans at work, at home, and at play. We knew that the things we saw on science fiction and deep space adventure shows were fiction, not magic. But I suspect that if – in the sixties – we had encountered any of those technologies in real life, we almost certainly would have said it was some sort of magic trick – or filmmaker’s...

A beautiful, clear-blue sky hung over New York City on a warm September morning. It was a local election day, so much of the city was running a little late into work. But the first responders — firefighters, EMS and police officers — had already been at work for hours. Just after 8:46 am, calls began flooding 9-1-1. New York City firefighters, police and emergency medical responders began dispatching to the World Trade Center where a plane had just flown into the North Tower. At the time, no one had any idea how just big the disaster would become, or...

Why are new swaths of fast data changing the landscape for athletes, coaches, and fans? To dig in, we partnered with SiliconANGLE to sit down with sports technology leaders and talk about the intersection of data, sports, and technology. Follow along with our video series, “SportsData Silicon Valley”, as we explore sports analytics thought leadership! (Watch the series premiere here) Can computer vision help sports teams and their sponsors do business better? The next time that you watch a professional sports event—such as a basketball game, baseball game, hockey match, or soccer match—try to count how many advertisements are displayed...

If you were to slip on a banana peel that someone in front of you dropped, would you blame the peel? Of course not. It’s an inanimate object that had no control over how it was wielded. That same banana peel could have been composted—fertilizing new life—instead of dropped at your feet. And what about the person who dropped it? Perhaps there was a reason that compelled them to drop it instead of throwing it away. The peel, like data, could have been used in many different ways, all affecting different outcomes Bi•as (bīəs): From the French biais, “a slant, a...

The BlueSky lab at the IBM Thomas J. Research Center in Yorktown Heights, NY is built to look just like a residential home. It has a living room, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and den. But what separates it from the average living space are the data-gathering sensors placed throughout—in the cabinets, under the chair cushions, on the bed and the doorknobs. They contain magnetometers, gyroscopes and accelerometers that measure the movements of the people living there, down to a squirm or twitch. It might sound a little creepy, but all of this data is necessary to the lab's purpose: Collect and...

You bought, you played, you conquered. Completed all the missions. Explored every nook and cranny. Beat half the online community. You enjoyed the heck out of it while it lasted, and the game was cool, but it’s not one you’ll be coming back to. Not every game can steal your heart. You just love trying them out. This would be about the time you gather up all your old discs and head to the local used game store for trade-in time. It’s pretty awesome because it means you can get cash back or store credit towards that shiny new release...

Our relationships with the digital apps and services that we turn to for entertainment, connection and information are built on sharing data. But Luke Stark—a sociologist at Dartmouth College studying emotion, privacy and digital media—worries that users who share personal information online don't get what they deserve in return: transparency about the data that companies collect, and how those companies use it. Globally, people spend more than two hours per day engaging with social media. Those sites and services have won our attention, but a recent study suggests that they haven't won our trust—only 21 percent of global respondents trust...

The United Nations Global Pulse, an innovation initiative on big data and data science, and Western Digital recently announced the winners of the Data for Climate Action Challenge (D4CA) at the Data Innovation: Generating Climate Solutions event during the United Nations climate change conference (COP23) in Bonn, Germany. An unprecedented open innovation challenge to harness data science and big data from the private sector to fight climate change, D4CA called on innovators, scientists, and climate experts to use data to accelerate climate solutions. Access to large amounts of data – anonymized and aggregated to protect privacy – accelerates the ability to spot connections, gain...

Last December, Jesse Taylor was worried that the stress of his job and being a stay-at-home dad for his infant son was taking its toll. Taylor, 36, lives in Winnipeg and works as an operations manager for an online business. He felt overwhelmed by his responsibilities and distracted by the sleep deprivation that often comes with caring for a young child. And then his wife suggested that Taylor try one of Thriveport's mental health apps. "She suggested I give it a go to get out of those negative talk tracks I had gotten into from lack of sleep," he says....

Biological anthropologist and love expert Dr. Helen Fisher remembers the first time someone from a dating site called her. It was in 2005, "a couple of days before Christmas," she recalls. The memory is a fond one because it was the beginning of her best relationship—albeit a business one. The website wanted to hire Fisher to help them understand the new world of dating online—and how it might change the way people find love. Over a decade after the site officially hired her, Fisher's findings have culminated in an annual survey, eight years running, of singles across America. With the help of...

Guest written by Sergio Castellanos Admire The Sites … While Sitting In Traffic For those who have visited Mexico City, you know the beauty of its architecture, cuisine, people and places. After all, it was ranked No. 1 of “52 places to go in 2016." Traffic congestion, however, is not one of the things to admire in this sprawling, Latin city.  In fact, Mexico City is also ranked No. 1 on the worldwide traffic index, with drivers spending an average of 227 extra hours on the road each year, stuck in traffic. Given the nature of the predominantly combustion-based vehicles...

The Itch to Explore From the deepest depths of the oceans to the highest mountain peaks, our curiosity has always led us to the most incredible places to reveal the mysteries of the unknown. Futurist Jason Silva wonders: how will the technologies of today power the possibilities of exploration tomorrow? Technology that’s more powerful, more accessible, and more ubiquitous can help us find wonders beyond our world at the very stretches of our universe. Are you ready to break boundaries? Jason sure seem to be (and truth be told, we are too). Check Out All of Jason’s Videos! What happens...

With every place we go and every action we take, it feels like we’re constantly being asked to submit personal data. Download a free app, and you’re asked for your email address. To redeem that discount offer at the pet store, you must supply your phone number. Play a video game, and it wants to connect to your social media.  AI, the artificial intelligence displayed by machines, can be misunderstood if we define it only by what’s seen in media and entertainment – the cute droid sidekicks from a blockbuster movie or the facial-recognition software used by television detectives. AI...

This year’s flu virus is one of the worst in recent history, according to public health data. As of January 2018, 49 states reported their flu activity as “widespread,” the highest on a scale beginning with “no activity.” The reason for the spike might be that this year’s flu vaccine is not as effective as it has been in years past at preventing infection (though, it may still help prevent flu-related deaths). Our best defense against the flu and other diseases is the ability of public health organizations to track and understand it. Data about the spread of a disease...

When Jeff Schacher and Kevin Mullins started a game of ping pong one evening in 2009, they ended up not with a winner or loser—but with a new, data-driven way to feed the homeless. At the time, Schacher was an actor in New York City, supplementing his income waiting tables. Each night, he saw excess food dumped in the trash that could have been salvaged for people who needed a meal—and the observation changed the course of his career. He learned to code and used his newfound computer programming skills to develop an app-based logistics platform to coordinate food donations (think of...

Patients are, well, losing their patience with the many hassles involved in seeing their doctor and staying well. There can be long delays in scheduling an appointment, which can delay getting a jump on a pernicious disease and result in lower quality of care. That’s followed by overcrowded and slow-moving waiting rooms. Add in paperwork and bureaucracy. When you’ve finally made it to the exam room, you’re lucky to get 10 minutes with the doctor. “Patients simply want their story to be heard,” said Natasha Burgert, a physician in Kansas City, MO. “They want us, as physicians, to not only...

There’s no doubt Augmented Reality (AR) has had its ups and downs over the last few years. But one powerful little thing is changing everything: that mini super-computer we all own know as our smartphones. Get the basics on AR & VR in our Reality Shift article. Constant innovations in the chip technologies and manufacturing that drive our smart devices mean we can store more and more data in a smaller amount of space, and process it faster every year. This has opened the floodgates for accessible, propitious software and accompanying peripherals that seek to enhance our interaction with the...

When faced with an enormous challenge, it’s incredibly gratifying to make inroads towards solving it. This is why we’re over the moon following the award presentations for the Data for Climate Action Challenge (D4CA). Climate change is an issue that affects every human being in every country. It’s also a challenge that no one person, or even a single country, can address alone: collaboration and partnership are essential to rise to the climate challenge. The grand prize-winning submission Electro-mobility: Cleaning Mexico City’s Air with Big Data and Climate Policy is an impressive example of how collaboration, together with data science...