The next big thing in the social sector has officially arrived. Machine learning is now at the center of international conferences, $25 million dollar funding competitions, fellowships at prestigious universities, and Davos-launched initiatives. Yet amidst all of the hype, it can be difficult to understand which social sector problems machine learning is best positioned to solve, how organizations can practically use it to enhance their impact, and what kind of sector-wide investments can enable the ambitious use of it for social good in the future. Our work at IDinsight, a nonprofit that uses data and evidence to help leaders in the social sector combat poverty, and the work of other organizations offer some insights into these questions. Machine learning uses data (usually a lot) and statistical algorithms to predict something unknown.

Most business leaders and entrepreneurs today realise that artificial intelligence (AI) is essential for the growth and competitiveness of their organizations. In fact, the AI technology will allow the rate of innovation and employee productivity improvements in Asia Pacific to nearly double (1.9 times, to be precise) by 2021, according to business leaders in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. These were some of the findings of a study from Microsoft and IDC Asia/Pacific, "Future Ready Business: Assessing Asia's Growth Potential Through AI", which surveyed over 1,600 business leaders and over 1,580 workers across 15 markets, including Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Among the industries polled included agriculture, automotive, education, financial services, government, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, services and telco/media. Eight in 10 business leaders from companies with more than 250 staff agreed that AI is instrumental for their organization's competitiveness, the study said.

Most business leaders and entrepreneurs today realise that artificial intelligence (AI) is essential for the growth and competitiveness of their organizations. In fact, the AI technology will allow the rate of innovation and employee productivity improvements in Asia Pacific to nearly double (1.9 times, to be precise) by 2021, according to business leaders in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. These were some of the findings of a study from Microsoft and IDC Asia/Pacific, "Future Ready Business: Assessing Asia's Growth Potential Through AI", which surveyed over 1,600 business leaders and over 1,580 workers across 15 markets, including Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Among the industries polled included agriculture, automotive, education, financial services, government, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, services and telco/media. Eight in 10 business leaders from companies with more than 250 staff agreed that AI is instrumental for their organization's competitiveness, the study said.

After years of quiet percolation, the art world is suddenly waking up to the creative and market potential of AI-generated art. Earlier this year, the Grand Palais museum in Paris staged a show examining the medium, and this month, Christie's announced it will be auctioning off a work made by an artificial intelligence in October. Now, one of the largest contemporary commercial galleries in India, Nature Morte, has become the first mainstream gallery to take the nascent art form seriously. "Gradient Descent," on view through September 15 at the New Delhi gallery, is a group show including works created entirely by computers in collaboration with seven international artists: Harshit Agrawal, Memo Akten, Jake Elwes, Mario Klingemann, Anna Ridler, Nao Tokui, and Tom White. Gallery director Aparajita Jain tells artnet News that it couldn't afford to ignore the field of AI-made art because of how she believes it is going to impact the art world. And while she was initially shocked to find out how far AI has already come in the creative field, Jain wants to dispel the idea that it will replace artists in the same way it is replacing human workers in other fields.

WINTER PARK, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 20, 2019--COPC Inc., a global consulting firm that helps companies improve operations to transform the customer experience, and Execs In The Know, a global community of customer experience professionals, have announced the release of the 2018 Corporate Edition of the Customer Experience Management Benchmark (CXMB) Series. The report, The CX Journey: Understanding Corporate Strategies and Best Practices, provides customer experience management insights from the corporate perspective. A key finding is that since 2017, companies have dramatically increased their use of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered solutions for customer service. "Our new corporate report shows that companies see tremendous potential in AI-powered solutions for customer care, both in applications that are customer-facing and in those that assist call center agents with their work. However, we also know from previous research that customers want a quick and easy way out of any AI-powered solution to reach a live person. Our findings overwhelmingly show that companies are keenly aware of this necessity in any customer-facing application. And while customers still want that personal interaction, we think that AI-powered solutions will find their appropriate place in the service journey," said Kyle Kennedy, president and chief operating officer, COPC Inc.

The planned Robot Science Museum in Seoul will have a humdinger of a first exhibition: its own robotic construction. It's very much a publicity stunt, though a fun one -- but who knows? Perhaps robots putting buildings together won't be so uncommon in the next few years, in which case Korea will just be an early adopter. The idea for robotic construction comes from Melike Altinisik Architects, the Turkish firm that won a competition to design the museum. Their proposal took the form of an egg-like shape covered in panels that can be lifted into place by robotic arms.

Recent developments are poised to move AI to center stage, leading to revolutions across businesses around the globe. However, challenges remain, and an uncertain future makes it difficult to predict exactly where and how AI will be most effective. Protiviti and ESI ThoughtLab recently conducted a survey of 300 senior executives across the globe to uncover just how AI is being implemented and what to expect in the coming years. According to the survey, just 16 percent of businesses report gaining significant value from AI. Over the next two years, however, this number is expected to more than triple, potentially leading to a majority of businesses relying on AI.

On February 12, 2019 the Department of Defense released a summary and supplementary fact sheet of its artificial intelligence strategy ("AI Strategy"). The AI Strategy has been a couple of years in the making as the Trump administration has scrutinized the relative investments and advancements in artificial intelligence by the United States, its allies and partners, and potential strategic competitors such as China and Russia. The animating concern was articulated in the Trump administration's National Defense Strategy ("NDS"): strategic competitors such as China and Russia has made investments in technological modernization, including artificial intelligence, and conventional military capability that is eroding U.S. military advantage and changing how we think about conventional deterrence. As the NDS states, "[t]he reemergence of long-term strategic competition, rapid dispersion of technologies" such as "advanced computing, "big data" analytics, artificial intelligence" and others will be necessary to "ensure we will be able to fight and win the wars of the future." The AI Strategy offers that "[t]he United States, together with its allies and partners, must adopt AI to maintain its strategic position, prevail on future battlefields, and safeguard [a free and open international] order. We will also seek to develop and use AI technologies in ways that advance security, peace, and stability in the long run. We will lead in the responsible use and development of AI by articulating our vision and guiding principles for using AI in a lawful and ethical manner."

Sight Diagnostics, an Israeli medical devices startup that's using AI technology to speed up blood testing, has closed a $27.8 million Series C funding round. The company has built a desktop machine, called OLO, that analyzes cartridges manually loaded with drops of the patient's blood -- performing blood counts in situ. The new funding is led by VC firm Longliv Ventures, also based in Israel, and a member of the multinational conglomerate CK Hutchison Group. Sight Diagnostics said it was after strategic investment for the Series C -- specifically investors that could contribute to its technological and commercial expansion. And on that front CK Hutchison Group's portfolio includes more than 14,500 health and beauty stores across Europe and Asia, providing a clear go-to-market route for the company's OLO blood testing device.

Innovation for large industrial markets can lead to big wins but the path to success is hard. Even when technology breakthroughs are proven, often the greatest challenge is to unlock markets characterized by conservative customers and slow sales cycles. Our global team comprises experienced technology investors, entrepreneurs and operators with industrial sector expertise. We love early stage opportunities where ideas and teams are still taking shape but can invest at a late stage too. We cover North America, Europe and Asia, and we can lead or syndicate with others.