Where are neural networks being used?

• Signal processing: suppress line noise, with adaptive echo canceling, blind source separation
• Control: e.g. backing up a truck: cab position, rear position, and match with the dock get converted to steering instructions. Manufacturing plants for controlling automated machines.
• Siemens successfully uses neural networks for process automation in basic industries, e.g., in rolling mill control more than 100 neural networks do their job, 24 hours a day
• Robotics - navigation, vision recognition
• Pattern recognition, i.e. recognizing handwritten characters, e.g. the current version of Apple's Newton uses a neural net
• Medicine, i.e. storing medical records based on case information
• Speech production: reading text aloud (NETtalk)
• Speech recognition
• Vision: face recognition , edge detection, visual search engines
• Business,e.g.. rules for mortgage decisions are extracted from past decisions made by experienced evaluators, resulting in a network that has a high level of agreement with human experts.
• Financial Applications: time series analysis, stock market prediction
• Data Compression: speech signal, image, e.g. faces
• Game Playing: backgammon, chess, go, ...

refrences:
http://www.willamette.edu/~gorr/classes/cs449/motivate.htm

Neural networks versus conventional computers

Neural networks take a different approach to problem solving than that of conventional computers. Conventional computers use an algorithmic approach i.e. the computer follows a set of instructions in order to solve a problem. Unless the specific steps that the computer needs to follow are known the computer cannot solve the problem. That restricts the problem solving capability of conventional computers to problems that we already understand and know how to solve. But computers would be so much more useful if they could do things that we don't exactly know how to do.
Neural networks process information in a similar way the human brain does. The network is composed of a large number of highly interconnected processing elements(neurones) working in parallel to solve a specific problem. Neural networks learn by example. They cannot be programmed to perform a specific task. The examples must be selected carefully otherwise useful time is wasted or even worse the network might be functioning incorrectly. The disadvantage is that because the network finds out how to solve the problem by itself, its operation can be unpredictable.
On the other hand, conventional computers use a cognitive approach to problem solving; the way the problem is to solved must be known and stated in small unambiguous instructions. These instructions are then converted to a high level language program and then into machine code that the computer can understand. These machines are totally predictable; if anything goes wrong is due to a software or hardware fault.
Neural networks and conventional algorithmic computers are not in competition but complement each other. There are tasks are more suited to an algorithmic approach like arithmetic operations and tasks that are more suited to neural networks. Even more, a large number of tasks, require systems that use a combination of the two approaches (normally a conventional computer is used to supervise the neural network) in order to perform at maximum efficiency.
Neural networks do not perform miracles. But if used sensibly they can produce some amazing results.

refrences:
http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~nd/surprise_96/journal/vol4/cs11/report.html
#Neural%20networks%20versus%20conventional%20computers