Most AI computing happens in data centers packed with hundreds or thousands of servers. Get ready for AI to show up where you'd least expect it. In 2016, tech companies like Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft launched dozens of products and services powered by artificial intelligence. Next year will be all about the rest of the business world embracing AI. Artificial intelligence is a 60-year-old term, and its promise has long seemed like it was forever over the horizon.

Merriam-Webster's word of the year for 2016 was "surreal." According to the online dictionary, surreal is "… used to express a reaction to something shocking or surprising." Surreal is also a good word to describe some of the key events in the technology world that took place this past year. Artificial Intelligence (AI): The extremely rapid advancements that have been made in AI during 2016 were stunning. Research into AI is 50 years old, but only recently have new algorithms and new computing power come together to enable truly innovative applications. From a technical point of view, AI implementations have mostly switched from a structured and rule-oriented world to one that is data-driven and relies on machine learning.

DARPA's'robot pilot' kit is one-step closer to transforming military planes and helicopters into autonomous flying machines. Called Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS), the Pentagon's research agency announced that the technology has now completed Phase 2 of development. During testing, the kit was successful in ground and flight demonstrations and showed it is capable of quickly tailoring to new platforms. DARPA's drop-in, removable'robot pilot' kit (pictured) is closer to reality. Called Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS), the Pentagon's researcher agency announced the technology has completed Phase 2 of development For example, an array of cameras allows the robot to see all the cockpit instruments and read the gauges.

It was a good year for imaginative military innovations. From "Star Wars"-style speeders to an inescapable surveillance drone, many of the futuristic advances seem straight out of science fiction or Hollywood blockbusters. Remember those speeder bikes in "Return of the Jedi" that raced through the air? The US military may get to zoom around the battlespace on a type of real-life version in the not-so-distant future. Malloy Aeronautics and SURVICE Engineering Company teamed up to further develop Malloy's Hoverbike for the U.S. Army Research Laboratory.

The United States formally accused Russia of tampering with the 2016 election. According to a joint report by the F.B.I. and Department of Homeland Security issued Thursday, Russian intelligence operatives gained access to "a U.S. political party"--presumably the Democratic National Committee--in two separate instances, and were able to steal files from the organization and people involved with it. The report's release coincided with the announcement of sanctions against Russia, including the expulsion of 35 diplomats. The report confirms previous reports about the hacking of the D.N.C., which led to the leak of emails that sparked a variety of conspiracies and accusations of bias. Cybersecurity experts who investigated the DNC hack found similar strategies were used to gain access to computers to then steal files and other security credentials.

Working in the field of big data and AI means that I see the leading edge advances that come with it. It also means routinely getting freaked out when you think too closely about the possibilities and implications of those advances and where they might be taking us. Manufacturing are the first places we see robots and automation eliminating human jobs, but it's hard to think of an industry that will be left unaffected as robots and AI become more affordable and widespread. It's estimated that between 35 and 50 percent of jobs that exist today are at risk of being lost to automation. Repetitive, blue collar type jobs might be first, but even professionals -- including paralegals, diagnosticians, and customer service representatives -- will be at risk.

It's hard to bet against the continued rise of automation, robots, and artificial intelligence (AI), all of which are already having major impacts on how we work, learn, shop, and play. But being able to predict that robotics and AI will change our lives is a lot easier than predicting how they will change our lives. In a recent forecast for 2017 and beyond, for instance, analyst firm IDC said we can expect to continue seeing robotic and AI technologies keep growing more affordable, more capable, and easier to use. The Obama White House said it expects the same, but also warns in a new report that "growth will not be costless" and could harm workers lacking the skills to compete in an AI-driven economy. How the incoming administration plans to address such issues is also uncertain. While President-elect Donald Trump's campaign promised to revive U.S. manufacturing and spend $1 trillion on the nation's infrastructure, he has also tapped Hardee's/Carl's Jr. chief Andrew Puzder -- who supports the use of automation to save on employment costs -- as secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor.

Apple was the first to introduce a digital assistant when it acquired Siri and baked it into the OS. The makers of Siri went on to create Viv, a realisation of their original vision for Siri. Viv was acquired by Samsung this year. Despite the initial head start with Siri, Apple lost ground over the subsequent years by being very secretive about its research. As Apple employees were not allowed to publish research, the best talent was not attracted to the company.

A new report claims that from this point on, intelligent machines could become more vital to business than people. It estimates that up to 15 million UK jobs are at'high or medium risk' of being replaced by automation in the next two decades. And British people could face a reality that is somewhere'between Star Trek and the Matrix.' A new report claims that 60 per cent of British retail roles, around 2 million people, could be taken over by technology by 2030. Britain has reached'peak human', with intelligent AI more powerful than the human brain set to takeover everyday jobs and tasks The report, by Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) we are close to the point where humans are more important to labour than machines.

Some commentators said it was just a publicity stunt. But the notion began to seem less far-fetched when Google revealed its own drone-based delivery effort in 2014, something it calls Project Wing. And in the early months of 2016, DHL actually integrated drones into its logistics network, albeit in an extremely limited way--delivering packages to a single mountaintop in Germany that is difficult to access by car in winter. "It started to get momentum after serious players came in," says Parimal Kopardekar, NASA's senior engineer for air transportation systems, who has been researching ways to work these buzzing little contraptions into an air traffic control system created for full-size aircraft. "We need to accommodate drones."