One problem is that it is amazingly easy to get false positive results when scanning through complicated data sets and searching in the dark for correlations between genes and disease.

FORBES: Why You Shouldn't Trust Newfangled Gene Tests

Systems based on machine learning filter out noise in big data or high resolution models by scanning for patterns that humans would like to find but cannot.

FORBES: The Man-Machine Framework: How to Build Machine-Learning Applications the Right Way

The data can then be read simply by scanning the disc with another laser beam.

ECONOMIST: Digital video discs

The most established technology related to tracking social media comes from Autonomy's Intelligent Data Operating Layer (IDOL) platform, which has been scanning the Internet using techniques based on patterns and probability for more than a decade.

FORBES: JargonSpy

Instead of simply scanning for keywords, Crimson's software uses an algorithm to analyze data based on a set of categories and themes determined by the user.

WSJ: Watching How China Censors

Semel has scientists looking at data-mining, user interfaces and the behavior of microeconomies, which might include things like scanning a million investment chat rooms to predict larger stock price trends.

FORBES: Magazine Article

After convincing his daughter to spend six weeks scanning roughly 500, 000 patient records, Novich now can pull charts, X-rays and other data from three office computers and access them from home.

FORBES: Magazine Article