Big data is a big deal, and if you follow the popular technical press, you’ll have heard all the metaphors: data is the new oil, the new bacon, the new currency, the new electricity. It’s even been called the new black. While data may not actually be any of these things, we can say this: in today’s networked world, data is increasingly valuable and it is essential to research, both basic and applied.

Today, we welcome a special guest to the podcast. Dr. Igor Perisic is the Vice President of Engineering and Chief Data Officer at LinkedIn, the social network for business and employment. Today, Dr. Perisic talks about the key attributes of a data scientist, how AI and machine learning are helping personalize member experiences, why we should all be big open source fans, and how LinkedIn is partnering with other researchers through their innovative Economic Graph program to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.

All this and much more on this episode of the Microsoft Research Podcast.