Data science is the practice and methodology of implementing analytics or machine learning techniques, with subject matter expertise, to provide insights that lead to actions.
Data science is a broad field that covers a broad range of analytics and computer science techniques. This field—and the various professions that perform data science—are a critical component to building AI solutions.
In practice, data science is a cross-functional discipline that combines elements of computer science, mathematics, statistics, and subject-matter expertise. The goal of data science is to produce data-driven insights and processes that can help solve business, operational, and strategic problems for different kinds of organizations. This is often, though not always, achieved using machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities.
Throughout these chapters, we will frequently refer to data science and data science teams. These are the teams who support the many data and AI efforts underway in government agencies.
