Facebook's business practices dominated much of the year's biggest talking points, alongside new data regulations coming into force in Europe and the continuing rise of Fortnite as a global phenomenon. Facebook came under intense scrutiny during 2018, as the company's approach to data privacy and its handling of personal information was put under the spotlight. The Cambridge Analytica scandal, which exposed not only how data could be scraped from Facebook users but also the flaws in the company's own data policies, sparked much of the scrutiny. Despite several appearances in front of lawmakers in the US and European Union, Mark Zuckerberg and his firm failed to satisfy many with questions over how the social network operates and has seen its public trust and even its share value plummet. It also sparked an ongoing battle with a House of Commons select committee, which looks set to continue into next year.

Artificial intelligence in 2019 won't reach the level of the replicants of "Blade Runner" -- the 1982 movie that was set in this year -- but experts expect smart technology to become more common and more disruptive. Twenty percent of business executives told PwC consultants that their companies will begin to use AI in their businesses in 2019. Automation has already put plenty of people out of their jobs in recent years, but, according to PwC, 38 percent of business executives say AI will create more jobs, while only 19 percent say it will cause cuts. Sales of smart speakers like Amazon Echo and Google Home are expected to boom massively this year, with Deloitte consultants projecting the industry to surpass 250 million units sold by the end of 2019. But some expect the kickback to be strong, as users increasingly sour on big data collection and may push back on AI viewed as too overbearing and non-transparent.

CES 2019 will be my 16th consecutive jaunt to Las Vegas to see the latest and greatest that the consumer electronics industry has to offer. So I'm extremely confident in predicting that we'll see plenty of the following: Those, of course, are the table stakes -- the same trends that have been on display for the past three, five or even 10 years of the world's biggest electronics show. To that end, these are the biggest questions we have going into the show -- the answers to which will set the tone for the rest of 2019. Qualcomm showed off a 5G phone prototype in Hawaii last month. There is little doubt that 5G -- the next-generation wireless standard that promises hyperfast speeds with almost no latency -- is the key game-changing technology for 2019.

In case you somehow missed the dire predictions regarding artificial intelligence: AI is coming for our jobs. Over 10 percent of positions currently occupied by humans will be eliminated by cheaper, more efficient automated replacements, and experts agree AI could make redundant as many as 75 million jobs by 2025. With new reports sounding the alarm bells on what seems a daily basis, it's all too easy to get caught up in the negativity. But as we reflect back on a few of AI's achievements in 2018, I'd argue it's tough not to be encouraged by the good it can do -- specifically, the ways AI can augment skilled humans. Recall Unanimous AI, a startup headquartered in San Francisco and founded by Stanford-educated computer scientist and CEO Louis Rosenberg.

In the fourth post in our series of how to get started with conversational AI, we take a look at the key aspects for ensuring a positive result on your conversational AI journey. We covered the topic recently in a webinar given by our VP of Global Customer Services, Darren Ford and below is a partial transcript highlighting his 5 Golden Rules for Success. If you'd like to listen to the webinar in full including examples of how these golden rules have been applied in real-world implementations then you can watch the replay here. If you can't articulate the business case and value you want to achieve from the conversational AI application, don't start the project. Or at the very least, be transparent with the partner or third-party supplier and work collaboratively with them to help define the value you expect to achieve. The idea is to use this as the lighthouse to guide you towards business success and to help you make design decisions in order to deploy the right technology.

Another year has passed and humanity, for better or worse, remains in charge of the planet. Unfortunately for the robots, TNW has it on good authority they won't take over next year either. In the meantime, here's what the experts think will happen in 2019: Dialpad, an AI startup created by the original founders of Google Voice, tells TNW that all the hype over robot assistants that can make calls on your behalf may be a bit premature. Etienne Manderscheid, VP AI, Machine Learning, for the company says "robots may attempt to sound human next year, but this will work for few domains in 2019." Despite the hype brought on by Google Duplex and resulting conversations around speech synthesis, true text-to-speech technology will not be able to carry on conversations outside of the specific domains they're built around for at least another few years.

As on today, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are well and truly poised to make the work of healthcare providers more logical & streamlined than repetitive. The technology is helping shape personalized healthcare services while significantly reducing the time to look for information that is critical to decision making and facilitating better care for patients. Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare has immense potential to improve costs, the quality of services, and access to them. According to CIO, AI-powered healthcare are driving meaningful changes across the entire patient journey. But, clinical applications of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare are rare – a trend we expect to change soon.

Humans want to speak to machines the same way they speak to each other -- in natural language, not the language... You forgot to provide an Email Address. This email address doesn't appear to be valid. This email address is already registered. You have exceeded the maximum character limit.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning have been the most discussed amongst other emerging technologies of 2018, adding the extra zing to the coffee breaks of technocrats. With global leaders like Amazon, Google and Microsoft ramping up resources for research in these fields, the trend is definitely not going to dip down anytime soon. In fact, Google is offering free online training to enhance knowledge and build capabilities. Analysts believe, 2019 is going to be the year for business enterprises who have been waiting to finally get on board to witness a plethora of advancements for their industry. What are the technology disruptions we expect next year?

Service robots for personal and domestic use continue to grow. The forecast from 2016 through 2019 is expected to be $22 billion. Julian Jagtenberg, Co-Founder and Head of Growth, Somnox created a robot that has one job, to help you sleep better. The Dutch startup, with around $282k in funding, wants to reduce the effects of sleep deprivation with their robot that simulates natural breathing as you hold the robot to fall asleep. Jagtenberg looks at the shift from industrial to home robotics and the emergence of a new species in his predictions for robotics in 2019.