More than 300 million smartphones, or a fifth of units sold, will have neural network and machine-learning functions in 2017, according to Deloitte. One of today's biggest opportunities for IT to make an impact is by automating business processes, manufacturing, repetitive tasks, and more. This artificial intelligence will be used to for everything from indoor navigation to image classification to augmented reality and speech recognition. In addition, Deloitte said that these tools won't necessarily need to be connected: "On-board machine learning may allow tasks to be done better and faster, or with more privacy," said Deloitte in its Global Predictions 2017 report. Deloitte's report covered a few bases, but the one revolving around machine learning is among the most certain.

Entertainment consulting firm Accenture has been doing its digital consumers survey for about a decade, but its 2017 edition was the first to include questions around artificial intelligence and technology. And the results were surprising to the company. "There's pretty intense interest in AI this year, and a year ago there wasn't anyone talking about it," said Charles Hartley, Accenture's global media and analyst relations manager for communications, media and high-tech businesses. "Consumers aren't intimidated by it at all, apparently. The survey--which interviewed just under 26,000 consumers across 26 countries--found that 62% of people are comfortable with AI apps--like Amazon's Alexa--responding to a voice query, even though only 4% of people actually own a standalone, digital, voice-enabled device (like the Amazon Echo or Google Home) as of the end of 2016. Nearly 90% of respondents said that artificial intelligence simply makes it easier to do things, and a third said they're interested in using voice-enabled digital assistants available in smartphones. Hartley made special note of the 68% who deemed AI "less biased" than humans and the 64% who said AI "communicates more politely." More than half said AI is "less likely to make a mistake." Meanwhile, on Jan. 11, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, the journalism-centric Knight Foundation and others announced they've created a $27 million fund to research AI applications for the public, with MIT's Media Lab and the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University serving as academic research stations. The hope is to bring in a wide range of tech and academic voices to the future of AI applications, the groups said in a statement. "Artificial intelligence agents will impact our lives in every society on Earth.

"Machine learning is fascinating as it will revolutionize how we conduct simple tasks like translating content, but it also has major security and health consequences that can improve societies around the world," said Paul Sallomi, vice chairman and global TMT industry leader, Deloitte LLP and U.S. technology sector leader. "For example, mobile machine learning is a strong entry point to improve responses to disaster relief, help save lives with autonomous vehicles, and even turn the tide against the growing wave of cyberattacks." "Our predictions for 2017 showcase the enormous influence that machine learning and the Internet of Things are having on the current technology marketplace," said Sandy Shirai, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP and U.S. technology, media and telecommunications leader. "With many technologies coming into their own as their power and speed increases and the cost of delivering them goes down, we'll continue to see these platforms grow exponentially and expand their role across industries, creating a whole new value proposition and opportunities." Another innovation with the power to transform the world is autonomous braking.

Seattle-based startup Mighty AI, recently rebranded from Spare5, has raised $14 million in a Series A1 round led by Intel Capital, with participation from new investors Google Ventures (GV) and Accenture Ventures. Existing investors Foundry Group, Madrona Venture Group, and New Enterprise Associates also contributed to the round. Founded in 2014, Mighty AI pays subject matter experts to fine-tune artificial intelligence (AI) engines so they can see, hear, talk, and "think" like humans. Businesses that are looking to use AI technology, but don't have the datasets required to set up effective AI software, are able to acquire the right datasets to train and scale their computer vision and natural language models. "In the future, we will count on AI to make every aspect of our lives better," said Mighty AI founder and CEO Matt Bencke.

Spare5, a gig economy startup that uses the general public to help train companies' artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, has today relaunched as Mighty AI and announced a $14 million funding round led by Intel Capital, with participation from other new investors GV (Google Ventures) and Accenture Ventures. Existing investors Foundry Group, Madrona Venture Group, and New Enterprise Associates (NEA) also participated in the round. Founded out of Seattle in 2014, Spare5 has hitherto partnered with big-name companies such as Microsoft, Pinterest, and IBM, among others, who provide the Spare5 community with "tasks" -- these generally focus on identifying the meaning of media assets such as photos, videos, and audio. For example, someone may be presented with a picture of a landscape, and they would have to tell the system what the mountain is, and whether the large body of water it identified is a lake. Moving forward, the company will be known as Mighty AI, and in addition to the funding round, it has signed deals with Intel and Accenture.

Artificial Intelligence, as we see it, is a collection of multiple technologies that enable machines to sense, comprehend and act--and learn, either on their own or to augment human activities. Compelling data reveal a discouraging truth about growth today. There has been a marked decline in the ability of traditional levers of production--capital investment and labor--to propel economic growth. Yet, the numbers tell only part of the story. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a new factor of production and has the potential to introduce new sources of growth, changing how work is done and reinforcing the role of people to drive growth in business.

Global technology major Accenture is looking to use the power of combination of the best technologies in the world to build solutions that are unique for their clients. "Accenture is like a glue organisation," says Marc Carrel-Billiard, global managing director -Technology R&D, Accenture. Accenture's technology R&D division is working towards combining different technologies wherein Artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) are at the core of it. Their engineers are combining AI with deep learning and machine learning to interpret the large amounts of data being generated from the 20 billion connected devices today. "So, if you combine all the data coming from the sensors with all the computing power, machine learning...we have the best of both worlds. We need to combine them and the combination is a cure, that's exactly what I am talking about - combining things together that makes a big difference," says Carrel-Billiard.

Accenture plc published this content on 30 December 2016 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 30 December 2016 09:37:05 UTC.

What does a truly data-driven business look like as a new age of artificial intelligence dawns--and how do organisations find the right balance among all the moving parts behind big decisions? Emerging technologies such as machine learning, natural language processing, and conversational agents can create giant leaps of efficiency, meaning, and insight hidden within businesses and the world at large – an enormous opportunity for leaders to make more informed and effective decisions. Seizing the opportunity will require leaders who can weigh the power and influence of both artificial and human intelligence, finding a balanced path that makes the most of each unique capability. In our latest survey we've captured a ground-level view across 2,100 C-suite leaders, business unit heads, and SVPs as they grapple with the biggest choices facing their companies. These leaders say they are sold on the power of data and analytics to deliver insight into key questions they need to answer.

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