A system and method of acquiring and verifying information is provided. The system comprises a processor, and a memory comprising a sequence of instructions which when executed by the processor configure the processor to perform the method. The method comprises acquiring data from a data source associated with an author of the data, normalizing the acquired data, determining, by the processor, an identity of the author of the data, classifying the normalized data based on the identity and acquired metadata, and storing in a memory the normalized data. Normalizing the acquired data comprises parsing the acquired data for meaningful information, extracting metadata from the acquired data, and mapping the parsed information to internal data structures.

A method of selecting an action from a plurality of actions to be performed in an environment comprises maintaining. for each action, count data indicative of a number of times the action has been performed and a difference between the number of times and a number of observed resulting rewards for the action, each reward being a numeric value that measures an outcome of a given action, determining. from the count data and a bandit score provided by a bandit model. an expected score for each action, the bandit score provided by the bandit model for a given history of performed actions and observed rewards. and the expected score determined by determining an expected value of the bandit score given a likelihood of some of the actions having unobserved pending rewards. and selecting the action from the actions and based on the expected score for each action.

System and computer-implemented method of dynamically modifying a user interface and displaying a circular meter with a selectable slider. The identity of the UI is extracted from the UI and looked up in a table to determine two scores associated with the UI. A UI-specific score indicates how many actions a user has taken with the UI, and a total score indicates how many actions a user has taken with all UIs that the user has permitted to track. A graphic having two concentric circular meters is combined with the UI to produce a composite UI that is displayed to the user as the user is interacting with the UI. The meters fill up in opposite directions, and a slider on one of the meters can be slid clockwise or anti-clockwise to permit the user to make a selection based on the two scores.

System and computer-implemented method of dynamically modifying a user interface and displaying a circular meter with a selectable slider. The identity of the UI is extracted from the UI and looked up in a table to determine two scores associated with the UI. A UI-specific score indicates how many actions a user has taken with the UI, and a total score indicates how many actions a user has taken with all UIs that the user has permitted to track. A graphic having two concentric circular meters is combined with the UI to produce a composite UI that is displayed to the user as the user is interacting with the UI. The meters fill up in opposite directions, and a slider on one of the meters can be slid clockwise or anti-clockwise to permit the user to make a selection based on the two scores.

A system and method of characterizing crowd users that participate in crowd-sourced jobs based on responses to the jobs, and scheduling their participation based on user-indicated schedules of user availability or system-predicted schedules of user availability. A system may determine a level of quality of a response to a crowd job. The system may use the determined quality of response to determine a reward. The system may schedule a crowd user's participation in a future crowd job. The user may be identified based on the quality of previous responses provided by the user. The system may schedule the user's participation based on explicit input from the user indicating availability and/or based on a system-predicted availability of the user. When the future crowd job is or will be deployed, the system may provide the user with instructions to participate and/or otherwise provide the user with the crowd job.

System and computer-implemented method of dynamically modifying a user interface and displaying a circular meter with a selectable slider. The identity of the UI is extracted from the UI and looked up in a table to determine two scores associated with the UI. A UI-specific score indicates how many actions a user has taken with the UI, and a total score indicates how many actions a user has taken with all UIs that the user has permitted to track. A graphic having two concentric circular meters is combined with the UI to produce a composite UI that is displayed to the user as the user is interacting with the UI. The meters fill up in opposite directions, and a slider on one of the meters can be slid clockwise or anti-clockwise to permit the user to make a selection based on the two scores.

A system and method of providing an Information Technology (IT) services report to a user is provided. The present invention includes a database and a server, such as a web server. The server may include a microprocessor and a memory having a loaded software. The server produces a plurality of questions formulated to extract IT related needs of the user. A plurality of search criteria is extracted from answers to the plurality of questions. A proprietary algorithm compares and matches the plurality of search criteria with IT products and services data of a plurality of IT services stored on the database. A report is then produced and displayed to the user. The report may include a list of IT services that match with the criteria. Each of the IT services on the list may include comparison data including at least a vendor name and a price.

A system and method for incentivizing bartenders and other individuals to promote a particular brand of alcohol by creating a video competition. The system receives instructions to implement a video competition and notifies a plurality of individuals of the video competition. The participants to the video competition each create a video showing the individual preparing a particular alcoholic beverage. The video is created using a video production application that simplifies the video production process by providing guidelines for filming the video, automatically speeding up one or more portions of the recorded video, and allowing the user to easily edit the video. Videos created using the video production application may also be used as a part of an electronic cocktail menu. The system may identify prize winners for the video competition and transfers prizes to the winners, for example, electronically.

The integrity of data (e.g., review data) provided via a computer network (e.g., the Internet) and relied upon by online consumers when making purchase decisions is assured using a blockchain protocol that conducts a machine learning enabled validation flow on a public blockchain with reward mechanisms designed to weed out fake and incentivized reviews. A machine learning (ML) annotator evaluates a review and provides a score that is passed to human validators along with annotations for validation. The human validators stake tokens against the annotated reviews in a proof-of-stake consensus model that provides financial incentives to the human validators to provide an increased number of trustworthy reviews. The review protocol is implemented via smart contracts that are stored and replicated on a blockchain network and that are used to facilitate, verify, and enforce the negotiation or performance of the terms of an agreement between the participants and the review protocol.

Distributed muster includes distributing to different mobile devices an identity of an assigned muster location of an ocean-going vessel, and associating each mobile device both with a corresponding passenger of the ocean-going vessel, and also with the assigned muster location. Thereafter, a timer initiates that defines a period during which a muster drill must be completed by all of the passengers and, in response, a message is transmitted to each mobile device that the muster drill has commenced. During the period, as each mobile device is sensed within a geographically defined area of a correspondingly assigned muster location, a record of the completion of the muster drill by the passenger associated with the sensed mobile device is recorded in the memory. As well, subsequent to a lapsing of the timer, a listing is displayed of any passenger not recorded as having completed the muster drill.