We would expect all of these stages to be relevant to varying degrees; the Isle of Man and the industries it is home to are no exception. Whilst some of these technologies may seem far away – and some of them still are – being ready for them will be a key differentiator for workplaces and governments alike. Automation and Robotics varies hugely by industry, sector, and country. There are a number of fields where these technologies are already fully implemented, especially where the removal of human input is for safety reasons; i.e. in dangerous situations such as hazardous environments. However, in a number of fields, this is still in its infancy and improvements can still easily be made – none more so than certain sections of professional services. Machine learning is embedded in several high-tech industries, and is starting to enter early adopter and mainstream usage in both the home and the workplace.

KPMG plans to use IBM's Watson cognitive computing technology for its professional services in Australia. The artificial intelligence deal with IBM includes a focus on audit and assurance services. IBM's Watson has been doing everything from diagnosing cancer and recommending treatment to analysing the Harry Potter books and running online university courses. "Already, data and analytics techniques are transforming audit by allowing analysis of much bigger populations of data than traditional sampling from which to draw conclusions," says Duncan McLennan, KPMG's national managing partner of audit. "Cognitive technology will allow us to build on these data and analytics advances. They will be a game changer in how the value of audit is perceived by the marketplace."

As used in this document, "Deloitte Advisory" means Deloitte & Touche LLP, which provides audit and enterprise risk services; Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP, which provides forensic, dispute, and other consulting services; and its affiliate, Deloitte Transactions and Business Analytics LLP, which provides a wide range of advisory and analytics services. Deloitte Transactions and Business Analytics LLP is not a certified public accounting firm. These entities are separate subsidiaries of Deloitte LLP. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.

To Succeed in the Digital Economy, Health Organizations Must Tap Digital Models That Place People First and Scale Expertise to Meet Demand, Accenture Report Finds Annual outlook predicts five converging digital trends that will shift how healthcare applies key innovations LAS VEGAS; June 16, 2016 – To succeed in the digital economy, health organizations will need to place people first and adopt strategies to scale expertise to meet changing demand, according to an annual report by Accenture (NYSE: ACN) released at the annual America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) Institute & Expo in Las Vegas. The industry report, Accenture Digital Health Technology Vision 2016, identified five digital forces that [Accenture predicts] will converge over the next three to five years to reshape healthcare delivery: Intelligent Automation; The Liquid Workforce; The Platform Economy; Predictable Disruption; and Digital Trust. The five digital forces Accenture identified and their likely impact on the healthcare industry are described below. The Digital Health Tech Vision 2016 from accenture Intelligent Automation According to Accenture, the health industry will increasingly embrace intelligent automation--powered by artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and augmented reality – to streamline basic tasks, such as collecting patient intake data, enabling clinicians to focus where their training and experience have the greatest value. Significant investments in intelligent automation are already underway, as Accenture's survey found that roughly seven in 10 health executives are investing more in machine learning and AI-related technologies than they were two years ago.

Despite the promise of artificial intelligence, Europe's managers aren't yet ready to embrace it.

KPMG will hold a series of workshops over the next few months with IBM Watson staff to work out how to use the artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities to carry out this new type of audit. "No-one knows exactly what the audit of the future will look like, but you can be sure it will involve two things - bright human beings and cognitive technology," said Duncan McLennan, the firm's national managing partner of audit. "Cognitive enables greater collaboration between humans and systems - so while it's a game-changer for audit in terms of depth of analysis, it will still require insights from talented people. We're being helped, not replaced."

According to global consulting firm Accenture, intelligent automation powered by machine learning processes is 2016's biggest tech trend. For tech giants like Amazon and Google, machine learning has long been central to their operations - the most famous example being Amazon's recommendation engine, which many see as having been the key to its success. Such technology has huge implications for organizations across all industries though, and the wealth of data that companies now hold, along with the rise in affordable products like Microsoft Azure ML and IBM Watson, mean that they are rushing to adopt it.

Young people will bear the brunt of Artificial Intelligence (AI) fuelled job losses as smart systems undercut entry-level roles in everything from marketing to retail. Machine learning and expert systems will not destroy jobs wholesale, predicts George Zarkadakis, digital lead at advisory firm Willis Towers Watson, but will remove the need for many tasks that employees have traditionally cut their teeth on at the beginning of their careers. Zarkadakis cited a study by consultants McKinsey, which found that just under one third of activities that make up 60 percent of existing jobs will be automated. Unfortunately for new entrants to job markets, the bulk of these activities will be concentrated in starter roles, said Zarkadakis. "We've done some research ourselves and looked at the impact on entry-level jobs. Jobs that graduates get once they leave university. We found that many of the entry-level jobs are very susceptible to complete obliteration," he told The AI Summit in London.

We began by considering the broad discoveries of Accenture's Technology Vision report. It reveals that '70% of executives are making significantly more investments in artificial intelligence technologies than they did in 2013'. So are there any particular industries that are taking to AI more than others? "At Accenture we see AI being adopted across all industries", Marc says. "Some disciplines are using AI more than others, but we really are seeing it across the board, and I would not say there is one industry specifically that is using AI more than another".

Intelligent machines inform better, faster decisions. They enable managers in insurance to shift their focus to activities that call for decidedly human traits such as complex thinking and higher-order reasoning. Providing guidance and recommendations, machines complement managers' expertise, experience and ethics, as well as their ability to experiment and innovate. The overwhelming majority of insurance managers believe machines will make them more effective and their work more interesting. However, the survey also revealed a lack of trust in machines among managers that might affect an organization's ability to make the most of cognitive computing.