Serious efforts put into data science research is what will take humanity forward. That’s a fact that no one can question, given the unprecedented pace at which data is being utilized by businesses from across the industry verticals. In the current times, almost every kind of business is dependent on the availability of relevant data. The growth prospects of a firm in any sector in today’s time are directly dependent on how well it utilizes the data available to them. Even the disruptive technologies (AI, ML, Automation) of the 21^st century, all of them, function on the availability of refined data.

Data created globally 2010-2024 (in zettabytes)

Source: Statista

When the dependence on data has grown up to this extent, it becomes mandatory to conduct extensive research in the said space so as to gain the optimal benefits that can be extracted out of the data science domain. For humans to grow, worldwide, they have to put in more effort in promoting and investing in data science research at the root level (college/university).

WDSI Institutional Grants Worth $300 Mn

WDSI (World Data Science Initiative) is a globally-relevant data science research initiative that is offering universities and colleges that impart data science education, subsidies worth USD 300 million. Colleges/universities across the globe can put in their applications by filling in the registration form online, on the WDSI’s official portal. The select college/universities will be offered subsidies on data science accreditation and their students will be provided with heavy discounts on the world’s most powerful third-party vendor-neutral data science certification developed and issued by DASCA (Data Science Council of America).

WDSI Worldwide Talent-Generation Targets

Source: WDSI Official Portal

The aim of the said data science initiative is to back the section of the global youth who is interested in pursuing a data science career. WDSI’s goal is to create a global talent pool of 250,000+ young individuals who will take the baton forward in the context of future data science growth & development. ‘Data Science Centres of Excellence’ will be set up inside the premises of a select few universities/colleges under the mentioned talent-nourishing futuristic initiative.

3 Data Science Research Areas That Demand Instant Investment

Biases in AI/ML Models, a Burning Issue

The AI/ML community has been alleged worldwide with accusations of biases related to training AI software and intelligent machines on data that is culture and gender-biased. It’s a known fact that all of the AL/ML models happen to be data-driven, that means the kind of data you feed to such models, the output comes out relative to that.

When data scientists and ML engineers devise an application that pertains to either NLP (natural language processing) or Machine Vision, the data sample used as input to train such intelligent applications, needs to be taken from multiple sources, and not just from one source. The issue with sourcing data from a single geographical location, or from the viewpoint of one gender, the biases emerge in the output concerning such applications. WDSI grants for universities can be seen as an initiative to counter such biases, as under the said program (advanced data science programs at Data Science Centres of Excellence), avoiding gender and cultural biases is promoted.

Ethical Use of Facial Recognition Technology

For years now, the use of facial recognition tech has been facing much heat worldwide. Companies as well as individuals, both have struggled to make use of the said tech in an ethical manner so as to limit the biases. In the US, the repercussions of the said tech have been huge. The use of facial recognition tech in matters of law enforcement and politics in the US has had been highly controversial, off late.

NLP Tech is the Future

Much research efforts need to be put into developing revolutionary NLP (Natural Language Processing) technology. Off late, NLP tech has seen tremendous growth and has positively affected the quality of human life. 2020 has already unveiled disruptive chatbots powered by NLP tech such as GPT-3 and BERT. In 2021, the said disruptive tech will be leveraged by companies worldwide as a form of strategic advantage. Even at present, in the AI/ML job listings worldwide, you will see NLP as a requisite skill.