Artificial Intelligence (AI) or cognitive technology is no more about a machine playing chess. AI is on the streets driving our cars. It is in our call centres chatting up customers in dulcet tones. AI is drafting and reviewing legal documents with immaculate precision. It is even doing what we could never dream of: You can trade using indices derived from satellite imagery (of all the things!).

The year 2016 was an interesting one for startups. Between high valuations and the glory of reaching unicorn status, entrepreneurs have been frenetically chasing private investors -- who were more than willing to deliver the cash -- and thereby delayed their entry onto the public market. Yet there was significantly less VC funding than in 2015. London-based auditing firm Ernst & Young (EY) reports that, as of Q3, U.S. companies raised $41.3 billion in 2,802 venture capital deals this year. In the San Francisco Bay Area alone, there were 916 deals, representing $16.9 billion.

Facebook uses machine learning (ML) for face recognition, Apple uses it to make Siri sound more human, and Google minimizes energy use at data centers with the help of ML. Machine learning is a trendy element of artificial intelligence that is being successfully used in many industries. Regardless of the industry your business operates in, consider using ML to improve productivity and receive higher ROI. In traditional computer science we need to explain the task we wish to accomplish to the computer. For example, if we plan on creating a tool that calculates salaries, then we need to write a program that translates to the computer how to perform each operation in a language that it understands.

Notably, the same way is passed by the product owner's company. In his session at 20th Cloud Expo, Oleg Lola, CEO of MobiDev, will provide a generalized overview of the evolution of a software product, the product owner, the needs that arise at various stages of this process, and the value brought by a software development partner to the product owner as a response to these needs. All in all, the key value that can be added to the success of your product does not comprise technical expertise and corresponding development resources only; true success is possible when the software development company becomes a reliable long-time partner that keeps developing the product further and making it continuously relevant. Speaker Bio Oleg Lola, MobiDev CEO, is a talented business manager and a skilled mobile developer who has a 10-year experience in software engineering. He understands the needs of startups and tech companies.

The march of technological progress is relentless; it cannot be stopped. And much of that progress is positive – think improved health, education, communication, collaboration, environmental improvements, productivity, and so much more. Technology has the potential to change so many aspects of our lives, as has been discussed in great detail on these very pages. Surely something, somewhere has to pay the price for technology's relentless march? As computers and software and artificial intelligence and automation gets better and better, what gets left behind? Increasingly, it's going to be us.

From forecourt to scrapyard, a new car in the UK lasts an average of 13.9 years, which is why if you got one today, it might very well be the last car you buy. Over the next decade, accelerating autonomous driving technology, including advances in artificial intelligence, sensors, cameras, radar and data analytics, are set to transform not only how we drive (or, indeed, are driven), but the notion of car ownership itself. "Autonomous driving has become the next major battlefield for the car industry," says Luca Mentuccia, automotive global MD at Accenture. The six levels of automation, defined under international standards by the Society of Automotive Engineers, range from "no automation" to "full automation", explains Sven Raeymaekers, of tech investment banker GP Bullhound. "If you look at the most recent predictions, the majority of car manufacturers estimate the first highly to fully automated vehicles [AVs] will hit the market between 2020-2025," he says.

A true genius in his own right, a whole new generation came to know Alan Turing, played brilliantly by Benedict Cumberbatch, in the movie on his life and impact on ending WWII, The Imitation Game. Turing predicted machine learning would play a big role in modern computing in his article the Turing Test way back in 1950. Turing was way ahead of his time, a major theme in the movie. Now, the world has caught up. The major advancements in readily accessible computing power, the quantity of data available and algorithms that truly make machine learning possible are driving the ability to process data, analyze it and act on it in ways that would make Mr. Turing proud. This has completely changed the machine learning game: the fundamental concept remains the same, but now it's far more sophisticated, efficient and easily deployable.

Will skills be as vibrant as apps?

The surprising finding is that people are much more willing to ride in a self-driving car that might kill them to save several pedestrians than in a car that would save them but kill pedestrians. Asian respondents had significantly different preferences from US and Europe.

Editor's note: Originally posted as part of Grakn's Advent at Grakn Labs series. In this era, one can safely say that creating your own chat bot is no longer reserved only for crazy engineers but even non-technical people can create their own. Chat bots have received a lot of hype in 2016 with large news networks like CNET lauding it as the best thing since sliced bread. So did 2016 actually end up being the year of the bot? One of the pioneers of the rise of the bots is Chinese mobile messaging platform WeChat who has provided a bot platform since 2013.