For more than 250 years the fundamental drivers of economic growth have been technological innovations. The most important of these are what economists call general-purpose technologies -- a category that includes the steam engine, electricity, and the internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine, for example, gave rise to cars, trucks, airplanes, chain saws, and lawnmowers, along with big-box retailers, shopping centers, cross-docking warehouses, new supply chains, and, when you think about it, suburbs. Companies as diverse as Walmart, UPS, and Uber found ways to leverage the technology to create profitable new business models. The most important general-purpose technology of our era is artificial intelligence, particularly machine learning (ML) -- that is, the machine's ability to keep improving its performance without humans having to explain exactly how to accomplish all the tasks it's given. Within just the past few years machine learning has become far more effective and widely available. We can now build systems that learn how to perform tasks on their own. Why is this such a big deal? First, we humans know more than we can tell: We can't explain exactly how we're able to do a lot of things -- from recognizing a face to making a smart move in the ancient Asian strategy game of Go. Prior to ML, this inability to articulate our own knowledge meant that we couldn't automate many tasks. Second, ML systems are often excellent learners.

IBM Watson, AlphaGo, Amazon Alexa – Artificial Intelligence (AI) is all around us, and holds the promise of connecting us and simplifying our lives like never before. Are they just as impressive and effective? Geoff Hueter, chief technology officer at Certona, explores how AI has the potential to transform retail as we know it, helping brands to overcome the obstacles presented by an ever-demanding, always-on, unforgiving and brand promiscuous shopper. In 2014, a film called Ex Machina brought the concept of AI to the masses. The premise of the film, in a nutshell, sees a budding programmer win a competition with an interesting prize: to test the human qualities of a robot who is just a little bit too self-aware and cunning.

CarStory uses big data to help match car buyers with potential vehicles in their area. Data is the lifeblood of AI. In the last two years alone, approximately 90% of the world's data was created. In combination with processing power, data has allowed for companies to make greater advancements in the automotive retail industry now more than any other time in history. The big question to ask is: how will AI impact automotive retail in 2018?

Big Data enabled AI will begin to change the game for online marketing and website presence – and amazing tools are being launched now to democratize access. While it is easy to get blasé about the impact of cheaper data in general, consider this: In 2017, online shopping finally came online en masse in India thanks to technological advances in the domestic telecommunications network and a drop in the price of data transmission. This means that India last year began to see a world that western audiences, in particular, have now grown blasé too. Except that there are 700 million Indians. That means a country several times the size of the United States is able to go shopping online for the first time. And boy, has that made a difference.

Most retailers of today are completely exchangeable from a customers' point of view. Products and prices are the same and thus no means for differentiation any more. To survive, retailers must continuously deliver a value beyond their core offerings. We advise retailers to focus on CRM to master that challenge, where we understand CRM as a holistic approach that puts customers at the heart of business. The fundament of that approach is to build and foster long-term relationship with key customers and customer segments.

Thanks to social media, consumers are more engaged than ever and have access to information almost at the same level as an industry insider. Senior merchants at retailers and brands have a very difficult time presenting consumers with a point of view because they already have it. Just look at the fragmentation of trends – the chief merchant of a $4 billion apparel brand recently told me "the new trend is that there is no trend." As a result, consumers want what they value, and they are doing the investigation and curation themselves. And, what they see on the runway now, they want now – not months down the road.

Your users have questions and you have answers, but you need a better way for your users to ask their questions and get the right answers. They often call your help desk, or post to your support forum, but over time this adds stress and cost to your organization. Could a chat bot add value for your customers? Interestingly, a recent poll shows that 44% of people would rather talk to a chat bot than to a human! In this post we provide a sample solution, called QnABot (pronounced "Q and A Bot").

GK Software SE is presenting innovations and new product versions at the EuroCIS trade show in Düsseldorf. The major focus is on the new full-service solution known as cloud4retail and the personalization of the customer journey with the help of artificial intelligence. GK Software is attending the EuroCIS to present new solutions and innovative concepts, as it does every year. The European market leader is demonstrating its new cloud service known as cloud4retail and solutions for personalisation and dynamic pricing, which are based on AI (artificial intelligence), for the first time. Customers can also expect innovations like the Mobile Customer Assistant, the Virtual Reality Store as well as integrated new solution concepts for the catering sector and gas stations.

Amazon is doubling down on the grocery-delivery space. On Thursday, the company announced that it would begin offering free two-hour Whole Foods deliveries for Amazon Prime members. The move may transform the grocery industry and could feasibly threaten the business of competitors such as Instacart--with whom Whole Foods has an existing delivery partnership. But it also raises a number of questions about the logistics of such an endeavor and what it could mean for our roadways, neighborhoods, and labor system. With two-hour delivery, a mere $35 minimum purchase amount, and access to thousands of items, Amazon's program makes sense whether you're doing a bulk grocery order or you've only forgotten a few last-minute dinner essentials.

This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read their continuously updated list of deals here. At $400, this is the lowest price we've seen for the InFocus ScreenPlay SP1080 in over a year. While we saw some great pricing around Black Friday of 2016, we didn't note similar drops this year as this projector, for whatever reason, has largely hovered around $500.