The more technology in business, the better – this is the common view. Different developments have so clearly transformed the ways we communicate, shop, share information and learn that there are many good reasons for the enthusiasm. However, what receives far less attention is how these new technologies impact workers and their productivity. Knowledge workers take on many roles – so many in fact that in 2011, Businessweek suggested that everyone is a knowledge worker to a degree. High-level employees who apply theoretical and analytical knowledge, acquired through formal education, to develop new products or services.

In human conversations, we rely on assumptions about how other speakers conduct themselves. This is known as the cooperative principle in the field of pragmatics. This principle breaks down into'maxims' for speech that speakers either follow or flout. In short, we rely on others saying truthful statements, providing as much information as possible, being relevant, and saying things appropriately. When speakers purposefully flout these maxims, it carries meaning that we can understand (e.g.

Google is using AI to compress photos, just like on HBO's Silicon Valley

Google is using AI to compress photos, just like on HBO's Silicon Valley South Africa's CLEVVA is making AI-powered virtual advisors a thing

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Perhaps the single biggest reason Artificial Intelligence won't reach the ominous scale of the Terminator or the romantic, dulcet tones of Samantha in Her or the childlike wonder of Spielbergs AI is economics. Artificial Intelligence is a Business Proposition While it may seem impressive that IBM, Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook are dropping hundreds of millions into developing Artificial Intelligence systems, don't ever forget that there is a business purpose behind these investments. If that profit becomes elusive, AI research at this current scale will fizzle rather fast. IBM with Watson; the two have almost become synonymous and I'd wager IBM may even change its name to Watson. When IBM changes it's name to Watson, we can be fairly sure they see the economics to do so.

Indian artificial intelligence startups are disrupting the fashion industry by helping brands identify trends on how consumers buy clothes. Brands are crunching time to bring new designs to market using the underlying technology that help predict consumer trends, while increasing sales of their new selections. Typically, brands freeze new designs nine months to one year in advance of the respective seasons. "More than half of the branded clothes by big retailers are sold in discounts. Brands think they know their customers, yet they have not been able to clearly identify what their choice is," says Ganesh Subramanian, founder and chief executive officer of Stylumia, an artificial intelligence and computer vision startup.

Microsoft Corp. on Monday said it has agreed to buy Genee, a "smart" scheduling app, as the company continues its effort to embed AI in all of its digital experiences. Rajesh Jha, vice president of Microsoft's Outlook and Office 365 business, said in a blog post that the acquisition will help "further our ambition to bring intelligence into every digital experience" as it builds new Office 365 productivity capabilities and services. Powered by AI, Genee could be used to enhance Microsoft's own virtual assistant, Cortana, which competes with Alphabet's Google Now and Apple Inc.'s Siri. By reading users' emails, Cortana can track packages and set reminders based on location, and other tasks. With Genee, it would be able to automatically set up business meetings by recognizing key phrases in emails. Both Google Now and Siri can interact with calendars to coordinate meetings on command, said Mike Gualtieri, a principal analyst at Forrester Research.

Artificial intelligence is proving itself to be more than just a buzzword recently, especially when it comes to marketing. From IBM Watson to the rise and rise of chatbots, AI's not only becoming prominent in largescale marketing channels everywhere, but it's making headway in video advertising too, it would seem. That's at least according to video platform LoopMe, which has announced new optimisation and reporting technology, PurchaseLoop. The new product combines LoopMe's AI with third party brand research from Nielsen and On Device, to target users and moments which have shown the greatest likelihood of moving along the purchase funnel. Throughout each campaign, a sample of exposed users will be surveyed and benchmarked against a control to determine the campaign's ongoing performance against brand metrics like brand awareness, favourability or purchase intent.

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly coming of age, as business leaders increasingly grasp the immense potential of "smart" machines and other innovations as catalysts for greater efficiency and competitiveness. The dollars tell a compelling story. By 2019, the global market for content analytics, discovery and cognitive systems software is projected to reach 9.2 billion, according to IDC, more than double that of 2014.* We see tremendous opportunities ahead for our clients. However, potential rewards will only become reality through substantial research and development, and we've got a lot of work ahead.