Five universities and I.B.M Research have received a $4.9 million dollar grant from the government’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for a long-term venture in cognitive computing.  Cognitive computing is an engineering field that is just on the outer edge of artificial intelligence.  Participants hope to engineer the mind by reverse engineering the brain, according to Dharmendra Modha-the leader of IBM’s cognitive computing program.

Computers have the capacity to excel at tasks where the domains they operate in are equipped with clear rules, such as chess.  IBM’s Deep Blue (for which Deep Blue Interactive was named) beat chess champion Gary Kasparov in 1997, becoming the first artificial intelligence to defeat human intelligence.  On the other hand, computers do not excel at problems with no clear rules, such as locating lost items.  Can computers be given higher levels of cognition? Can computers perform sensation, perception, reasoning and learning if given clear rules on the matter?

Many argue that these are human emotions that cannot be implemented into a machine, or artificial intelligence.  Others believe that pursuing cognitive computing will advance many industries and can be conquered by understanding the brain’s workings.  Still others worry that the brain’s workings will prove to be far too complex to be modeled for science. 

The well-funded research will hopefully further the path toward a higher level of internet functionality and a better understanding of how the mind works.  Brought to you by Deep Blue Interactive, your Fort Lauderdale interactive marketing and web design firm.

Yahoo announced on Monday that its chief executive Jerry Yang would step down from that role when the company decides on a replacement.  Mr. Yang is a co-founder of online mogul Yahoo and had assumed control of the company from Terry Semel approximately a year and a half ago.

In a statement, Yahoo said that Mr. Yang would return to his earlier role as “Chief Yahoo”, a corporate visionary role.  Mr. Yang will remain on the Yahoo board.  Yahoo said it would look for potential replacements inside and outside the company.  Rumored potential candidates include Susan Decker, Yahoo’s current president; Dan Rosenweig, the former chief operating officer, and Jonathan Miller, the former chief executive of AOL.

Recent months have less than ideal for Yahoo, with Mr. Yang rejecting a $47.5 billion takeover offer from Microsoft and falling short on a proposed advertising deal with Google.  The deal with Microsoft was worth $33 a share-that is over three times Yahoo’s closing price of $10.63 on Monday.  After hours trading witnessed the stock rise more than 4 percent.

While Mr. Yang has been with Yahoo since the company was a mere directory of websites, many questioned his abilities to succeed as chief executive, especially upon analyzing his decisions since taking the place of Terry Semel just last year.  Now that Mr. Yang is stepping down, there are surely rumors of a new round of talks with Microsoft.

Regulators squashed the proposed advertising partnership between Yahoo and Google, and some analysts and investors have suggested that without that deal, Yahoo will be forced to either rekindle talks with Microsoft or a potential merger with AOL.  Deep Blue Interactive, your interactive marketing source in Fort Lauderdale, Florida will continue to follow this story.