Turning Point for AI - follow up

This just out from Numenta...

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Numenta Newsletter September 2011

Dear Numenta newsletter subscriber: The year 2011 has been a turning point for Numenta. Prior to 2011, we were a research company, focused on biological learning algorithms. Starting in January of this year, we started creating a commercial product based on these algorithms. In this newsletter I want to tell you a bit about our product plans and invite you to join our private beta. At the heart of the product we are building is the Cortical Learning Algorithm, which we believe is unique in its ability to discover patterns in temporal data. (A paper describing the Cortical Learning Algorithm is available here.) Our focus over the last six months has been on exploring how the Cortical Learning Algorithm can be applied to almost any kind of data. Over much of this year, we have been developing a new service using the CLA algorithm that will allow anyone to find patterns and make predictions from data. We think this service will have wide-ranging uses, from web click prediction to sales forecasting to resource planning to health management. There are several compelling innovations in our product related to functionality and ease of use. We look forward to sharing more details on these features with you early next year, as we get closer to our product launch. In a few months, we will launch a private beta program. We are seeking dedicated partners who would like to get early access to our service and would be willing to provide feedback on the design of the product. We are looking for both developer participants (who will access the service through an API) as well as business users (with basic database and spreadsheet skills). Here are additional qualifications needed to participate in the private beta: Access to historical and current data, generally at least 1,000 records, in time order Data streams can be any type of structured or semi-structured data, including date/time, numbers, categories, and text (note that we are no longer doing vision work, so unprocessed photos and videos are not appropriate data streams) Data is not subject to confidentiality or HIPAA compliance issues Finding patterns in the data and making predictions has commercial value You are willing to have Numenta talk generally about the results in a case study (you will continue to be the sole owner of the data and any value derived from using our product) The beta program will be free up to some limits relative to server time If you are interested in applying to participate in the private beta please let us knowhere. As we make this transition to a product company, you will notice a few changes. First, we are changing our web site in preparation for our launch by moving the legacy software and forums to a separate area rather than being featured on the main site. While you are welcome to continue to use our previous software, and to write on the forums, we do not expect to continue to evolve this work. We anticipate eliminating this information, as well as access to the legacy software, around the end of this year, so we are making it available to you for several months more. Second, while I had previously tweeted under the ddubinsky account, we are switching to a Numenta Twitter stream. For those of you who have followed me at ddubinsky, please sign up for Numenta now. Third, we are growing our team, so I urge you to keep an eye on our job postings. We are building an incredibly exciting product with a big opportunity, so we welcome your interest in joining us. Thanks for your ongoing interest in our work. We can't wait to have you try out our product in 2012! Donna Dubinsky CEO, Numenta