There's no shortage of topics to discuss when we're talking about artificial intelligence (AI). It's hot for a good reason: AI changes the game for the future of everything from social marketing to search. It's particularly well-suited to change the latter, as search engine results placement (SERP) is already a science rooted squarely in a series of algorithms, some more understood than others. Because it thrives in this algorithmic space, AI is about to shake up search--and SEO--as you know it. If you want your business to succeed in this digital world where Google alone processes over 40,000 searches per second, optimizing your website and content is not a choice; it's a business imperative.

Michelle Obama took an apparent swipe at Donald Trump's social media habits, saying she uses social media "like a grown-up". "How many kids do you know that the first thing that comes off the top of their head is the first thing they should express? It's like, 'Take a minute. Talk to your crew before you put that [out there] and then spell check and check the grammar,'" the former First Lady said during a panel in New York, according to People. While Ms Obama did not mention the President by name, Mr Trump is known for stream-of-consciousness bursts of tweets that periodically contain grammatical and spelling errors.

As ATD marks its 75th year, we want to take time to talk to industry luminaries about where the field of talent development has been, where it is going, and what professionals need to succeed. There is no better place to start than a conversation with Elaine Biech, whom many consider an industry treasure. As president of ebb associates inc, a strategic implementation, leadership development, and experiential learning consulting firm, Elaine has helped organizations develop their talent and navigate change. She has presented at dozens of national and international conferences, is the author of more than 80 books, and has been featured in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Management Update, Investors Business Daily, and Fortune. A long-time volunteer for ATD, she has served on its National Board of Directors and been the recipient of numerous awards. More importantly, Elaine has led the charge in the evolution of training and talent development--helping it transform from an order-taking function to a fully realized profession and strategic partner that businesses need to excel. However, I still didn't know there was a profession called "training," and I'd never heard of Malcolm Knowles, Don Kirkpatrick, or of the other thought leaders in our field.

Nicolas Berggruen is chairman of the Berggruen Institute and publisher of The WorldPost. Will super-intelligent machines be our servants or masters? This is a misleading way of thinking because it treats artificial intelligence and humans as if they were fundamentally separate categories. Instead, what seems to be emerging is something more like human-AI hybrids, extending and transforming our cognition and consciousness. We see the first traces of these hybrids in everyday experiences such as driving around with digital mapping technologies, which have reshaped our sense of space.

An astonishing 87% of youth have witnessed cyberbullying. In 2017 alone, over 13 million American children were bullied or cyberbullied. For me, the struggle against bullying and cyberbullying is a personal one. In October of 2006, my 13-year-old daughter Megan took her own life as a result of cyberbullying. Committed to helping prevent similar tragedies, I founded the Megan Meier Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to supporting and inspiring actions to end bullying and cyberbullying.

With digital transformation efforts in full swing, all-new data sources coming online and the maturation of artificial intelligence, there's plenty of learning and work to do that will certainly keep information technology leaders busy for the foreseeable future. I believe 2018 will be remembered as the year where the wheat really separates from the chaff when it comes to data analytics. After a handful of years of building hype, we're now starting to see real innovation when it comes to applying data to business decisions. Having said that, there are three trends that I believe will especially dominate this year. Thanks to all-new, cost-effective storage solutions (e.g., the cloud) today's businesses are able to do things that they never thought would be possible.

Robin heads up commercial activities at Insightive.tv. He previously founded the award-winning Digital agency Red Sky Vision before building Europe's largest technology thought leadership video platform, cloud-channel.tv.

Continuing its commitment to academic excellence in fundamental research in artificial intelligence (AI), Borealis AI today announced the launch of the Borealis AI Graduate Fellowship Program, which will offer financial support to domestic and international students wishing to pursue graduate-level work in the fields of machine learning or artificial intelligence at a Canadian university. "We truly believe there's no better place in the world right now than Canada to be studying AI-related fields," says Foteini Agrafioti, Chief Science Officer of RBC and Head of Borealis AI. "Between our top-tier universities, booming AI ecosystem, inclusivity and overall quality of life, Canada is a highly valued destination for students and RBC is continuing its commitment to create these opportunities." The 10 fellowships will be awarded to outstanding students in Master's and PhD-level areas of study who have already been admitted to a Canadian school. Requirements for participation include a demonstration of strong research capabilities and a sound research proposal for graduate studies. Borealis AI will commit $100,000 annually to the fellowships, which will be administered directly to the school where the winners are registered.

John Hennessy has had a busy month. The former president of Stanford University was just named chairman of the board for Alphabet, Google's parent company. And he just helped name the first class of 49 Knight-Hennessy scholars, his new program aimed at turning graduate students into leaders that will improve the world. I caught up with Hennessy to find out a little more about how he plans to juggle his multiple roles, how Google can "Do the right thing" (as the company's new motto states), and his views on current hot-button issues in technology. Here's what he had to say.

For all the progress that has been made in developing artificial intelligence technologies in recent years, the software "brains" that power machines are still nowhere near the sophistication of human minds. And advancing the field will require bold, new ideas, says A.I. researcher David Cox. Cox (pictured) has spent the past 11 years at Harvard University--first as a research fellow, and later as an associate professor--trying to enhance machine intelligence by studying the intersection of neuroscience and computer science. Now, he'll continue that work about two miles down the road at IBM's Kendall Square office in Cambridge, MA. This month, IBM named Cox the director of its efforts in a new, joint A.I. research lab being run in partnership with MIT.