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.

Chances are, a drone isn't coming to take your job. A new report from consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that drones could replace 127 billion worth of labor and services over the next several decades. It's easy to see that number and conclude that drones are going to come and kick you to the curb. For one, drones don't save companies money just by reducing their labor costs. Drones also make business services, like delivering packages, more efficient, according to the PwC report.

An emerging trend promises to bring the power of machine learning to mobile devices, opening the door to a plethora of valuable new applications. Machine learning--the process by which computers can get better at performing tasks through exposure to data, rather than through explicit programming--requires massive computational power, the kind usually found in clusters of energy-guzzling, cloud-based computer servers outfitted with specialized processors. But recent developments may enable machine learning to be embedded into mobile devices, thus greatly expanding applications for its use. Neural networks--computer models designed to mimic aspects of the human brain's structure and function, with elements representing neurons and their interconnections--are an increasingly popular way of implementing machine learning. They are particularly well suited for performing perceptual tasks such as computer vision and speech recognition.

IT services provider Accenture announced its deal to acquire OPS Rules, an analytics consulting company based in the US. The acquisition of OPS Rules enables Accenture to expand its machine learning and operations analytics capabilities. Last year, Accenture also acquired Gapso, an analytics services and solutions provider in Brazil that assists enterprises to solve supply chain and logistics challenges. OPS Rules, founded in 2012, specializes in the application of data science to create supply chain and operations analytics solutions. The US head-quartered Accenture aims to add new operations analytics professionals to its team that apply machine learning and optimization techniques to develop innovative analytics approaches for clients.

Overview of the Centre for Innovation A living, breathing innovation hub as an accelerator to help Accenture and its clients unlock value by design. Our design-led, multidiscipline Centre for Innovation will research, incubate and pilot new and emerging digital technologies. Opportunities will focus on building the future in real time, partnering with clients across multiple industries and bringing together distinct skillsets to create true acceleration at scale. Operating across all stages of the innovation spectrum, the working environment will be open and interactive. An experimentation culture combined with a disruptive brief will ensure that together we make major societal impacts.

Graduate recruitment at auditors and accountants could fall by as much as 50% by 2020 due to the impact of artificial intelligence, according to a top executive of "Big Four" accountant EY. Steve Varley, chairman and managing partner for the UK and Ireland at EY, told the Financial Times: "Over time our graduate needs are coming down." The "Big Four" -- EY, PwC, KPMG and Deloitte -- are between them one of the biggest graduate employers in the UK. Globally, the auditing and accounting industry is also one of the biggest graduate recruiters. If recruitment reduces, thousands of grads will have to find somewhere else to start their careers.

WIRE)--Accenture (NYSE:ACN) is expanding its machine learning and operations analytics capabilities by acquiring OPS Rules, a boutique analytics consulting company that specializes in the application of data science to create supply chain and operations analytics solutions. When the acquisition is completed, Accenture will add new operations analytics professionals to its team that apply machine learning and optimization techniques to develop fresh and innovative analytics approaches for clients across many industries. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 2012, OPS Rules has offices in Waltham, Massachusetts and Richardson, Texas. OPS Rules is led by David Simchi-Levi, a Professor of Engineering Systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and renowned supply chain and operations analytics expert.

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.

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.

Technologies that most, if not every, technologist is well aware of. Maybe a little more nuanced for some to track? The beauty of being a budding technologist is that the landscape is constantly changing and forever in flux. What was once a herculean task of reading magazines and books with the hopes of finding the necessary information to connect the dots has been trivialized to a simple "online search" or a quick question to your phone. With the general accessibility of the internet, the ability to track and understand the technology landscape has simplified.