Rule of the Robots

Over roughly the past decade, the field of artificial intelligence has taken a revolutionary leap forward and is beginning to deliver practical applications that are already transforming the world around us, The primary accelerant of this progress has been "deep learning"-a machine learning technique based on the use of multi-layered artificial neural networks of the kind employed by the researchers at Stanford, The basic principles of deep neural networks have been understood for decades, but recent dramatic advances have been enabled by the confluence of two relentless trends in information technology: First, the arrival of vastly more powerful computers has, for the first time, allowed neural networks to transition into truly capable tools, And, second, the enormous troves of data now being generated and collected across the information economy are providing the resource that is crucial to training these networks to perform useful tasks, As artificial intelligence is successfully applied to more and more areas, it is becoming clear that it is evolving into a uniquely consequential technology, A flexible resource that can-perhaps someday with almost a flick of a switch-apply cognitive capability to virtually any problem we face, Ultimately, this new utility will deliver not just the ability to analyse and make decisions but to solve complex problems and even exhibit creativity, The AI Disruption explores the future implications of artificial intelligence by viewing it not as a specific innovation, but rather as a uniquely scalable and potentially disruptive technology - a powerful new utility poised to deliver a transformation that will someday rival the impact of electricity,