Larsen & Toubro Infotech Ltd. (NSE: LTI, BSE: 540005), a global technology consulting and digital solutions company has acquired Ruletronics, a pure-play Pega consulting and implementation company with offices in the UK, USA, and India. "Pega is a leader in Intelligent Business Process Management segment with more than 3,000 customers globally. Ruletronics brings significant Pega and BPM expertise along with unique client relationships that will help us grow our digital business further. Ruletronics enables businesses to transform and evolve digitally by providing innovative BPM and CRM solutions leveraging Pega Platform. Their current industry strength lies across Insurance, Banking, Healthcare and Retail segments. The company offers unique product based offerings for Disability Claims management, KYC Bulk Remediation, and Insurance Sales & Service applications. The acquisition will strengthen LTI's rapidly growing digital business with a suite of capabilities in Pega implementation space around establishing BPM Roadmap & Strategy, Customer Services, RPA and Decisioning. Nachiket Deshpande, COO, LTI, said: "Pega is a leader in Intelligent Business Process Management segment with more than 3,000 customers globally.

There's a fear that AI is going to take over our jobs - and with the advent of everything from self-driving cars to artificial customer service agents, it's a valid concern. It's especially fair when McKinsey, one of the most trusted global management consulting firms, predicts that as many as 800 million full-time employees could have their work displaced by 2030 due to automation. Yes, that statistic is alarming. However, to use that data point alone is not reality. In fact, with the following statistics next to it, we can paint a much better picture for the future of work.

Three new industry heavyweights have signed on to support the Australian National University's Autonomy, Agency and Assurance Institute (3Ai) and its mission to evolve new ways of thinking about and teaching artificial intelligence. KPMG, Macquarie Group and Microsoft will now join the CSIRO's Data61 in partnering with the institute, which is led by former Intel executive and recent high profile CBA board appointee professor Genevieve Bell. Bell said 3Ai was established in September last year to tackle complex problems emerging around artificial intelligence, big data, technology and their impacts on humanity. The announcement coincides with the Labor National Conference, where the party is expected to announce a greater focus on the ethical impacts of growth and development, especially in regards to technology. It also follows the Australian Human Rights Commission's release of an issues paper at its Human Rights and Technology conference in Sydney earlier this, at which Bell spoke.

The year ahead will be an awakening after the reckoning of 2018--a time for fashion companies to look at opportunities and not just at surmounting challenges. The ones that will succeed will have come to terms with the fact that in the new paradigm taking shape around them, some of the old rules simply don't work. Regardless of size and segment, players now need to be nimble, think digital-first, and achieve ever-faster speed to market. They need to take an active stance on social issues, satisfy consumer demands for radical transparency and sustainability, and, most important, have the courage to "self-disrupt" their own identity and the sources of their old success to realize these changes and win new generations of customers. They also need to invest in enhancing their productivity and resilience, as the outlook is uncertain.

Artificial intelligence is one of the most popular technologies of this modern era. The technology has attracted the attention of most of the leading technology companies and nations across the globe including China and the United States. Nations and companies that have ventured or invested in this technology are currently competing to see who emerges as the leader in this space. As such, artificial intelligence (AI) was a no-brainer bet for most humans in 2018. According to a recent report from both CB Insights and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), venture capital financing of artificial intelligence companies increased by 72% last year, reaching a record of $9.3 billion.

Daniel Burrus is considered one of the world's leading futurists on global trends and innovation. The New York Times has referred to him as one of the top three business gurus in the highest demand as a speaker. He is a strategic advisor to executives from Fortune 500 companies, helping them to accelerate innovation and results by develop game-changing strategies based on his proven methodologies for capitalizing on technology innovations and their future impact. His client list includes companies such as Microsoft, GE, American Express, Google, Deloitte, Procter & Gamble, Honda, and IBM. He is the author of seven books, including The New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-seller Flash Foresight, and his latest book The Anticipatory Organization.

Perhaps as a counter to the panic that artificial intelligence will destroy jobs, consulting firm KPMG today published a list of what it predicts will soon become the five most sought-after AI roles. The predictions are based on the company's own projects and those on which it advises. While it's all very well to list the jobs people should be training and hiring for, it's another matter to actually create a pipeline of people ready to enter those roles. Brad Fisher, KPMG's US lead on data and analytics and the lead author of the predictions, tells Quartz there aren't enough people getting ready for these roles. Training in AI is increasing "fairly rapidly" at universities and other institutions, but not rapidly enough, Fisher says, meaning that demand will continue to outstrip supply for some time.

In an interview with HR Technologist, I explain how employers can better the employee experience and help employees complete their jobs more efficiently using artificial intelligence (AI). Embedding AI into a company's unique Employee Value Proposition is necessary to deliver on the talent brand and to drive engagement. Employers can leverage AI to create differentiated employee experiences in a variety of ways, which will only continue to evolve. We already see employers using AI to develop personalized compensation packages based on employee's role, preferences and productivity; uncover insights on workplace trends and challenges, create stronger rewards programs and eliminate menial tasks. Millennials and Gen Z are digital natives, accustomed to convenience and desire by meaningful experiences.

No. 1 – Detecting abnormal travel expenses Most existing systems for reporting travel expenses apply pre-defined views, such as time period, service or employee group. While these systems aim to detect abnormal expenses systematically, they usually fail to explain why the claims singled out are judged to be abnormal. To address this lack of visibility into the context of abnormal travel expense claims, Accenture Labs designed and built a travel expenses system incorporating Explainable AI. By combining knowledge graph and machine learning technologies, the system delivers insight to explain any abnormal claims in real-time. No. 2 – Project risk management Most large companies manage hundreds, if not thousands, of projects every year across multiple vendors, clients and partners.

Stock of British footballers rises for winter transfer window Eden McCallum provides pro bono services to The Royal Foundation Lindsay Dixon appointed CFO of STV Feargal O'Rourke re-elected to lead PwC Ireland Alex Jenkins and Gareth Crooks join A&M Taxand in UK Digital transformation at Anglian Water wins second excellence award Richard Houston named new Deloitte North West Europe chief Feargal O'Rourke re-elected to lead PwC Ireland Worksome CEO Morten Petersen on the firm's UK market entry EY's lessons for making innovation successful in professional services Eliat Aram on the role of the Tavistock Institute in developing leadership CEO of social enterprise consultancy Ninety on the firm's future Interview: Paul Marcantonio, Head of UK & Western Europe at ECommPay Lindsay Dixon appointed CFO of STV Grant Thornton broadens Aberdeen team and moves to bigger office Feargal O'Rourke re-elected to lead PwC Ireland Alex Jenkins and Gareth Crooks join A&M Taxand in UK Richard Houston named new Deloitte North West Europe chief Jane Schroeder and Ian Tomlinson-Roe join Heidrick Consulting Efficio promotes Christo Zeller, Dap Wijeyeratne and James Cunningham Feargal O'Rourke re-elected to lead PwC Ireland