AI is the next big thing, and I am not just referring here to my company brand. I mean artificial intelligence, or so-called machine learning technologies. The impact for financial advice and advisers is positive, profound and, I have to say, imminent. When global information technology research firm Gartner issued its strategic technology predictions for 2017 last October, artificial intelligence and advanced machine learning themes led the top 10. As Gartner's report states: "During the next 10 years, virtually every app, application and service will incorporate some level of AI in much the same way as consumer appliances have incorporated microprocessors. "Some of these apps will be obvious intelligent apps that could not exist without AI and machine learning.

We're getting really close to completely automated deliveries. Ocado Technology, the research division of Ocado, a large UK online grocery delivery company, today showed off a robot concept that it has been working on with a range of European universities and Disney Research's Zurich office. The robot is essentially a soft, malleable hand attached to a relatively standard industrial robotic arm that can be used to grip produce without damaging it. The fingers and palm of the "soft hand", which was developed by the Technical University of Berlin, are pieces of expandable rubber that are controlled by forcing air through them. The hand can adjust its shape around the object it's gripping, allowing it to pick up small objects, like an apple, as well as larger objects, like a bag of limes. Ocado said in a blog post that it's still developing its idea--in the video, the bot was able to pick up the fruit in front of it (which was actually fake), but can't yet pick up the objects on its own.

The rise of the chatbots continues as Cleo, a virtual money assistant described by its creators as the "Siri of personal finance," has launched on Facebook Messenger for users in the UK, reports Paybefore (Banking Technology's sister publication). The platform connects securely to bank and credit card accounts, enabling users to track spending, set budgets and receive reminders and alerts via text or voice commands. Along with Facebook Messenger, Cleo also is available as a standalone app or through integration with Amazon's Alexa and Google Home. The Facebook Messenger integration is a major step forward for Cleo, which was founded in 2016 and thus far has received $700,000 in funding from angel investors, including Skype founder Niklas Zennström. Currently, Cleo is only available in the UK, but the company is planning expansion into additional markets soon.

What is intelligent automation and what does it mean for the financial services industry? Banks currently face a number of specific problems for which intelligent automation - and within this the capability of AI - may provide solutions. Far from becoming our new masters, our prediction is that thinking machines could become our most trusted assistants, enhancing our productivity through providing us deeper and more timely information, and perhaps even automating the business of generating insights and making considered decisions. We believe that intelligent automation will, above all, allow us to free people from routine work and so empower them to concentrate on more creative, value-added services. The overall benefits to the economy from such enhancements could be large, as could the benefits in terms of enjoyment of work and quality of life.

AI has improved manifold in last few years. It Seems like soon the Robotics & Automation will be things of past and AI will take over. Most of the people are aware, about AI used by Google for search and other applications, Apple for SIRI, Amazon for Alexa, Facebook for Image recognition, Netflix for content recommendation etc. Now we are reaching a stage where AI tools like Watson implementation has started and some companies have started claiming the benefits. These successful implementations will follow a surge in implementations in similar fields and definitely loss of few jobs.

Accounts of mysterious flashing lights in the sky, spacecrafts and encounters with'real' aliens reflect high levels of public interest in UFOs and the belief that there is'something out there'. However, many psychologists are less convinced, and think they can provide more down-to-earth, scientific explanations. Belief in aliens has increased steadily since the birth of modern alien research in the 1940s and 1950s, following the news surrounding a classified US military project at Roswell Air Force Base, New Mexico. The theory that alien abductions are hoaxes may be true in a few cases, but there is no reason to assume that the majority of'experiencers' are frauds Surveys in Western cultures estimated belief in aliens to be as high as 50% in 2015. And despite the fact that it is considered rare, a significant number of people also believe they have experienced alien abduction.

Much of the software now revolutionizing the financial services industry depends on algorithms that apply artificial intelligence (AI)--and increasingly, machine learning--to automate everything from simple, rote tasks to activities requiring sophisticated judgment. These algorithms and the analyses that undergird them have become progressively more sophisticated as the pool of potentially meaningful variables within the Big Data universe continues to proliferate. When properly implemented, algorithmic and AI systems increase processing speed, reduce mistakes due to human error and minimize labor costs, all while improving customer satisfaction rates. Creditscoring algorithms, for example, not only help financial institutions optimize default and prepayment rates, but also streamline the application process, allowing for leaner staffing and an enhanced customer experience. When effective, these algorithms enable lenders to tweak approval criteria quickly and continually, responding in real time to both market conditions and customer needs. Both lenders and borrowers stand to benefit. For decades, financial services companies have used different types of algorithms to trade securities, predict financial markets, identify prospective employees and assess potential customers. Although AIdriven algorithms seek to avoid the failures of rigid instructions-based models of the past--such as those linked to the 1987 "Black Monday" stock market crash or 2010's "Flash Crash"--these models continue to present potential financial, reputational and legal risks for financial services companies.

In the Marvel universe, billionaire Tony Stark/Iron Man has Jarvis, a personal AI to anticipate his needs and streamline his life. When I mention this to Collie Brown, founder and CEO of Arghon, a personal AI company, he gives a knowing smile. A moment before he described his AI product as a "life assistant." "There's the Watsons of the world, geared towards large scale data and the like," Brown said. "Arghon's about you, what's happening in your life from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed. Our goal is to manage what happens in between that."

The lending and credit scoring sector have more data than ever before at their disposal. How they leverage this data to create value for their clients and social impact determines the outcomes they can achieve in the financial services space. In 1959, Arthur Samuel, a pioneer in the field of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence during an era when computers filled an entire building, defined machine learning as "a field of study that gives computers the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed." During a recent keynote, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella referred to data used in this context as "the new electricity," calling our current era a "fourth industrial revolution" following steam, electricity and digital technology. Scott Guthrie, Microsoft executive vice president, also acknowledged that data is "enabling every business to be the disrupters of their industry by harnessing the power to drive insight from this data."

Disruptive technologies are now dictating our future, as new innovations increasingly blur the lines between physical, digital and biological realms. Robots are already in our operating rooms and fast-food restaurants; we can now use 3D imaging and stem-cell extraction to grow human bones from a patient's own cells; and 3D printing is creating a circular economy in which we can use and then reuse raw materials. This tsunami of technological innovation will continue to change profoundly how we live and work, and how our societies operate. In what is now called the fourth Industrial Revolution, technologies that are coming of age--including robotics, nanotechnology, virtual reality, 3D printing, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and advanced biology--will converge. And as these technologies continue to be developed and widely adopted, they will bring about radical shifts in all disciplines, industries and economies, and in the way that individuals, companies and societies produce, distribute, consume and dispose of goods and services.