While Musk's description of an injectable human-computer link may sound like science fiction, top tech executives repeatedly said that artificial intelligence (AI) was on the verge of changing everyday life, during discussion at a conference by online publication Recode this week. It is no secret that tech companies are diving into AI analytics research, an industry that will grow to 70 billion by 2020 from just 8.2 billion in 2013, according to a Bank of America report citing IDC research. AI, which combs through large troves of raw data to predict outcomes and recognize patterns, is already used in web search systems, marketing recommendation functions and security and financial trading programs. The technology will spread to driverless cars and service robots in the future, the Bank of America report said. Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Alphabet Inc's Google, said he sees a "huge opportunity" in AI.

Users of Google's voice-control features such as OK Google are probably aware that the company stores the voice recordings it receives when they talk to it. But it's still a bit of a shock to be confronted with a list of all the recordings the company has ever made of you. Google's voice and audio activity page isn't promoted heavily by the company, and visiting it gives a hint as to why. If you have (or have ever had) an Android phone with Google's "OK Google" voice-control system, the page should show a list of every command you have ever given it – replete with a little play button next to it. In my case, that means I found a recording of me asking for the nearest Waitrose in Glasgow (well, I am a Guardian journalist), lazily doing Fahrenheit conversions for cooking, trying to get driving directions to an Ikea, and just hurling random obscenities as a dumb, unfeeling computer (like I said, I am a Guardian journalist).

The drone technology will be replacing the jobs of inventory quality assurance employees, cutting inventory checks across massive distribution centers (the one in Bentonville is 1.2 million square feet) from one month down to a single day. When Natarajan joined Walmart in November 2014, he and his team were tasked with investigating cutting-edge technologies, asking, "How can we can converge them in ways that make sense for us?" he said. The application at the top of the list was using drone technology to improve the safety and efficiency of Walmart's 190 US distribution centers. In collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration and NASA, Walmart is developing internally autonomous drone technology that allows a quad-copter drone, roughly 3 feet by 3 feet, to take 30 images per second from a top-mounted camera. The camera is linked to a control center and scans for tracking number matches.

When most people worry about computers taking over the future, they are more likely than not reacting to the sort of sci-fi doomsday scenario they see in movies like "The Terminator" or "The Matrix." For those who are unfamiliar, the plot for such a scenario involves human beings building computers that become self-aware and decide immediately to overthrow and enslave us. In reality, the real threat from our highly mechanized and smart machine dependent-world is much more nuanced, and arguably not a threat at all, so much as the natural evolution of a marketplace that may have a profound impact on consumers – and the workforce that serves them. There is no question but that automation has made life easier for consumers. Why visit a bank with a teller when you can go to an ATM, and why go to an ATM (unless you need cash) if you can do everything you need to on your phone or laptop?

I've written before about the growth of artificial intelligence technology and how it is poised to transform not only retail but our lives in general. Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder and CEO, stated in a USA Today article (6/1/2016) that "The emergence of artificial intelligence and machine learning in household gadgets is gigantic". He goes on to say that "its hard to overstate how big of an impact this will have on society over the next 20 years". Bezos is speaking from firsthand experience as Amazon's Echo and Alexa, the company's digital assistant, have become a surprise hit since being released a year or so ago. Alexa lives in the cloud and is powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning. 'She' learns from every interaction with you, understanding over time that your favorite brand of cookies are Oreos so when you say'Alexa, please put cookies on the shopping list' she knows you mean Oreos.

Jeff Bezos spoke this week at Recode's Code Conference in California about the "gigantic" potential of artificial intelligence. Pressed by moderator Walt Mossberg to speculate on where this technology is headed and what it means, Bezos went so far as to say that we may be on the "edge of a golden era". Were it not real life I'd have sworn I was watching the opening scene of a sci-fi horror film, complete with scary technology (AI), calming platitudes ("humans are much more efficient") and sinister villain (guess who). Contrary to the titillating trailer, however, I think the future of artificial intelligence, at least as far as supply chain strategists are concerned, is bright, and that Bezos is our friend. Amazon reportedly employs 1,000 people in artificial intelligence.

Elon Musk, Chairman of SolarCity and CEO of Tesla Motors, speaks at SolarCity's Inside Energy Summit in Manhattan, New York October 2, 2015.REUTERS/RASHID UMAR ABBASI Elon Musk, Chairman of SolarCity and CEO of Tesla Motors, speaks at SolarCity's Inside Energy Summit in Manhattan, New York October 2, 2015. Artificial intelligence and machine learning will create computers so sophisticated and godlike that humans will need to implant "neural laces" in their brains to keep up, Tesla Motors and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk told a crowd of tech leaders this week. While Musk's description of an injectable human-computer link may sound like science fiction, top tech executives repeatedly said that artificial intelligence (AI) was on the verge of changing everyday life, during discussion at a conference by online publication Recode this week. It is no secret that tech companies are diving into AI analytics research, an industry that will grow to 70 billion by 2020 from just 8.2 billion in 2013, according to a Bank of America report citing IDC research. AI, which combs through large troves of raw data to predict outcomes and recognize patterns, is already used in web search systems, marketing recommendation functions and security and financial trading programs.

Before blind pre-orders for the OnePlus 3 could even kick off, online retailer Oppomart is spoiling the fun. They've already gone live with a retail listing for the phone, potentially revealing the price and hardware specs ahead of the official reveal.

MailChimp expanded its email marketing technology platform this week with predictive intelligence, unveiling Product Recommendations Wednesday in a blog post. The platform, aimed at supporting small businesses, predicts which items a subscriber would most likely buy based on their past purchases and online behavior. Product recommendations are added as content blocks to the bottom of email marketing newsletters. Small businesses can personalize emails with items each subscriber will most likely buy, Neel Shivdasani, data scientist at MailChimp, wrote in a blog post. To access the new feature, MailChimp customers need to connect their online store to MailChimp so that the company can access product images, links and inventory amounts.

Amazon wowed the internet with its drone delivery project, a prototype drone that brought a small package right to a customer's door. This was the future of drones in retail, said Amazon, promising a universe where customers never had to set foot in a store. Now Wal-Mart, Amazon's erstwhile physical competitor, is getting in on the drone game, but they're not bothering with delivery at all. No, when Wal-Mart flies drones, as it plans to do in the next 6 to 9 months, it will fly them inside warehouses. To cut costs on labor, naturally.