The age of big data

February 12, 2012 | Source: New York Times

Welcome to the Age of Big Data — advancing trends in technology that open the door to a new approach to understanding the world and making decisions.

Data is doubling every two years, estimates IDC.

The computer tools for gleaning knowledge and insights from the Internet era’s vast trove of unstructured data are fast gaining ground. At the forefront: the rapidly advancing techniques of AI, like natural-language processing, pattern recognition and machine learning.

The new megarich of Silicon Valley, first at Google and now Facebook, are masters at harnessing the data of the Web.

At the World Economic Forum last month in Davos, Switzerland, Big Data was a marquee topic. A report by the forum, “Big Data, Big Impact,” declared data a new class of economic asset, like currency or gold.

The United States needs 140,000 to 190,000 more workers with “deep analytical” expertise and 1.5 million more data-literate managers.