Theory Versus Practice in Data Science

In this talk I will discuss examples of how Amazon serves customers and improves efficiency using learning algorithms applied to large-scale datasets. I'll then discuss the Amazon approach to projects in data science, which is based on applying tenets that are beneficial to follow outside the company as well as inside it. Last but not least, I will discuss which learning algorithms tend to be most successful in practice, and I will explain some unsolved issues that arise repeatedly across applications and should be the topic of more research in the academic community. Note: All information in the talk will be already publicly available, and any opinions expressed will be strictly personal.