Machines capable of carrying out tasks normally reserved for humans will boost global GDP by as much as 14 percent by 2030, according to PwC. In a report, the global auditing and consulting firm argued that the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) can contribute $15.7 million to the world economy over the next decade, the equivalent of the current combined output of China and India, as it would vastly increase productivity and spur shoppers to spend more. According to the firm's calculations, the bulk of these gains, $9.1 trillion, will be generated by consumption-side effects. Shoppers, driven to work by autonomous cars, are expected to use their extra time and resources to buy personalized and higher-quality goods. The U.S. is forecast to be a major beneficiary of this trend -- PwC reckons that consumption patterns triggered by AI will add $3.7 trillion to the North American economy.

Global GDP will be 14% higher in 2030 as a result of AI – the equivalent of an additional $15.7 trillion. This makes it the biggest commercial opportunity in today's fast changing economy according to new research by PwC. Drawing on a detailed analysis of the business impact of AI Sizing the prize outlines the economies that are set to gain the most from AI. AI will contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy in 2030, more than the current output of China and India combined. Labour productivity improvements are expected to account for over half of all economic gains from AI over the period 2016-2030. Increased consumer demand resulting from AI-enabled product enhancements will account for the rest.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can transform the productivity and GDP potential of the UK landscape. But, we need to invest in the different types of AI technology to make that happen. Our research shows that the main contributor to the UK's economic gains between 2017 and 2030 will come from consumer product enhancements stimulating consumer demand (8.4%). This is because AI will drive a greater choice of products, with increased personalisation and make those products more affordable over time. Labour productivity improvements will also drive GDP gains as firms seek to "augment" the productivity of their labour force with AI technologies and to automate some tasks and roles.

The majority of the U.K.'s economic gains over the period to 2030 will come from increasing consumer demand thanks to AI driving a greater choice of products, increasing personalization and making them more affordable over time, PwC research published Wednesday shows. "While we expect that the nature of jobs will change and that some will be susceptible to automation, our research shows that the boost to U.K. GDP that AI-driven products and services will bring will also generate significant offsetting job gains," PwC economist Jonathan Gillham said. "Automating the more mundane and repetitive aspects of people's jobs will also increase the U.K.'s productivity and boost real wages." While Britain could see a 10 percent increase in gross domestic product through 2030, the nations likely to see the biggest upswings are China and North America, which will be boosted 26 percent and 14.5 percent, PwC said.

The real world and its digital twin are collaborating to bring forth something called "mass customisation", a new manufacturing culture which, as the term suggests, will be the basis for the most diverse ecosystem of engineered products ever seen. To understand and articulate some specifics about what's being called "the new frontier of manufacturing", one of the world's largest management consultancy firms, Deloitte, partnered with the Singularity University, a forum for technology futurists co-founded by Ray Kurzweil, to organise a conference called Exponential Manufacturing, featuring many thought leaders working in the industrial sector. The Singularity University says the idea of the event was to bring together the world's top experts in technology and manufacturing industries to help participants gain a deeper understanding of the core technologies reshaping manufacturing's future, including: While each item on the above list is a huge subject in and of itself, experts in the field of manufacturing and technology who took part in the Exponential Manufacturing seminar say they can all be summarised in certain ways, as explained in a video produced for the event (above). Peter Diamandis, co-founder and chairman of Singularity University, says: "The ability to go from intentionality – what's in your mind, what's in the consumer's mind – to actually having it right then and there, fast and cheap, is ultimately what all these technologies are converging to make happen." Often, all these diverse technologies – as they are applied to manufacturing and related sectors – are indirectly referenced in the catch-all term Industry 4.0, which itself refers to the idea that the world is going through the fourth industrial revolution.

At Booz Allen Hamilton, we're laying out a future where advancements in machine intelligence are shaped by a set of guiding principles borrowed from human subject research--beneficence, justice, and respect. We want to ensure that MI is beneficial, not harmful, to human welfare. This was the focus of our response to a request for information issued by the White House in June 2016 for the pros, cons and other implications of machine intelligence. We are calling for an approach where ethics are not simply tacked on at the end, but rather drive the U.S. approach to this experimental new technology. We see that with the work being done to drive technical development and research for our evolving machine intelligence capability, work that includes machine learning and deep learning, quantum computing and more.

Business leaders are asking: What impact will AI have on my organisation, and is our business model threatened by AI disruption? And as these leaders look to capitalise on AI opportunities, they're asking: Where should we target investment, and what kind of capabilities would enable us to perform better? Cutting across all these considerations is how to build AI in the responsible and transparent way needed to maintain the confidence of customers and wider stakeholders. These are the strategic questions we'll be addressing in a series of reports designed to help enterprises create a clear and compelling business case for AI investment and development. While there's been a lot of research on the impact of automation, it's only part of the story.

Artificial intelligence is playing a more significant role in business than ever before. A recent survey by professional services firm PwC found that 72 percent of executives believe that AI will offer sizeable business advantages in the near future.[1] Businesses are already exploring these advantages. Last October, Uber completed the world's first cargo shipment using a truck controlled by AI. [2] One area in which AI will benefit businesses across all sectors is in human resources and recruitment. Human bias can influence many aspects of recruitment: Humans tend to stereotype and make uninformed choices based on gender, ethnicity and so on.

According to a new report by consultancy firm Accenture, corporate profitability is in decline across most industries in the United States – and is also impacting investment and output in public services. After reaching their highest share of national income in the post-war era, the growth of profits dropped from 25 percent in 2010 to -3 percent in 2015, the report states. It is not a rosy picture for the future if things carry on as they are. Indeed, the current data do not suggest an environment conducive to growth. Business investment is already close to stalling. For instance, in manufacturing business investment growth has declined from 14.8 percent in 2012 to -5.2 percent in 2016 in the United States and from 5.9 percent in 2012 to -6.6 percent in 2016 in the United Kingdom .

Businesses that successfully apply artificial intelligence (AI) could increase profitability by an average of 38 percent by 2035, according to a new report from Accenture (NYSE: ACN).