Artificial intelligence (AI) is seemingly everywhere today. Whether it's using a virtual assistant like Siri or Alexa, improving sales insights through analytics, or hiring the best talent with AI-based recruiting software, many businesses have already started incorporating this technology into their everyday processes. While you may not necessarily need to make artificial intelligence the core of your operations right now, most experts agree that AI's role and importance in business will only continue to grow. Nine members from Forbes Technology Council each shared a way that companies can begin preparing for AI right now. I think for smaller companies, it is too early to create a plan, but I do think it is important to stay updated on AI and how it is being implemented in an applicable industry.

Newswire) Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the next big growth areas for the mobile industry according to a white paper released by IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO), a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions, ahead of Mobile World Congress. "Smartphones will both be the interface for consumer AI and deliver the vast amount of data technology companies need to train AI systems" "We see AI making smart devices even smarter with improved user experiences," said Ian Fogg, director of mobile and telecom analysis at IHS Markit. "Existing AI agents like Apple's Siri and Google Assistant will expand across the industry, complemented by embedded AI in all parts of mobile devices from cameras, to audio, to machine." "Smartphones will both be the interface for consumer AI and deliver the vast amount of data technology companies need to train AI systems," Fogg said. Software investments and partnerships are critical for hardware companies to create smarter AI-enabled experiences, said the IHS Markit white paper.

"We're excited to work with GE Lighting to bring Alexa to their LED lamp and enable new types of voice experiences," said Aaron Brown, Director of Alexa. "Voice is the future of home automation and the combination of Alexa with the GE LED table lamp, provides people with a simple and frictionless way to interact with their homes." To propel the connected home experience, GE is not only relying on inventors within its own walls, but drawing inspiration from companies like Amazon, real-world homeowners it's learning from and incubating with everyday inventors. The Alexa-enabled GE lamp drew inspiration from GE Lighting's real-world living labs, whereby the company tests lighting and connected home features and functionality with real-world consumers to learn and iterate based on their feedback. The concept also was influenced by a recent crowdsourcing challenge where GE, MAKER MEDIA and Hackster partnered to solicit makers, from college students to data scientists, to bring LEDs to life in new and unexpected ways. The winning ideas, which will be considered as part of future connected lighting designs, included lighting that notifies you when you are sitting idle for too long and encourages you to get moving; lighting-based motion detection that syncs with security services; a lit crib mobile that detects a baby's heart rate and oxygen levels to protect against SIDS; and lighting that tracks activity in the home to know who is home and where they are to customize lighting based on an individual's preferences and habits. The Alexa-embedded lamp will be designed in part by Richard Clarkson, famed designer of The Cloud, a cloud-shaped ceiling fixture that produces a motion-triggered lightning and thunder performance. GE's C by GE table lamp with Alexa will be available for pre-orders as part of GE's C by GE connected lighting products in early 2017 on www.CbyGE.com

A new global study finds several new categories of human jobs emerging, requiring skills and training that will take many companies by surprise. The threat that automation will eliminate a broad swath of jobs, across the world economy is now well established. As artificial intelligence (AI) systems become ever more sophisticated, another wave of job displacement will almost certainly occur. But here's what we've been overlooking: Many new jobs will also be created -- jobs that look nothing like those that exist today. In Accenture's global study of more than 1,000 large companies already using or testing AI and machine-learning systems, we identified the emergence of entire categories of new, uniquely human jobs.

Instead, they might ask their Amazon Alexa, Apple's Siri or a text-based chatbot for help. This week, GSA launched a pilot that would walk federal agencies through the process of setting up virtual assistants, powered by machine-learning and artificial intelligence technology, which can eventually be deployed to citizens. The goal isn't just to produce more "intelligent personal assistants," or IPAs, GSA's Emerging Citizen Technology Office lead Justin Herman told Nextgov. It's also to build out a structure internally, complete with toolkits and guides, so agencies can decide for themselves whether this technology is worthwhile, he explained. "The easiest part of this is actually building them," Herman added.

According to Forrester Tech Radar for B2B Marketing Technology and SD'16 (SiriusDecisions conference 2016), two of the hottest trends last year were ABM (Account-Based Marketing) and Predictive Marketing. I'm sure you all are now busy with deploying your ABM initiatives. Many of you have embraced or thinking of Predictive Marketing. AI is the red hot topic that is being discussed at c-level in all organizations. We all are beneficiaries of AI in our daily lives; from Alexa and Siri to TacoBot, we are reaping the rewards of AI.

Microsoft has delayed the release of its tools for connecting other services to the Cortana virtual assistant, a decision that could cause it to lose ground in a crowded industry. The tech titan announced the Cortana Skills Kit in December of last year, saying at the time that it would be released to the public in February. As Microsoft watcher Brad Sams noted on Twitter, Microsoft missed that deadline, and the Skills Kit remains locked in a private beta with a select group of partners. Microsoft didn't offer an explanation for the delay, saying in a statement that the kit will be coming soon. The Skills Kit is important for Microsoft in the virtual assistant market, since Cortana is competing with the likes of Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa.

Police departments are warning iPhone users to ignore posts urging them to say "108" to Apple's digital voice assistant Siri. Siri has been a part of Apple's iPhone since 2011. Some of the posts tell users to say "108" to Siri, then close their eyes. When a user says "108" to Siri, it automatically dials local emergency services. The posts ask users to close their eyes because there is a five-second window where a user can press cancel, in case a call was placed accidentally. The prank has prompted police departments to post warnings on Facebook and Twitter urging iPhone owners not to fall for it.

A four-year old boy in the U.K. managed to call the police to aid his unconscious mother by using Touch ID and Siri, authorities said this week. The Metropolitan Police said the boy called 999, the U.K.'s emergency number, on March 7 and told the emergency operator he thought his mother was dead because "she's closing her eyes and she's not breathing." The operator then asked the child where he lived and sent police and an ambulance to the address. Emergency responders arrived 13 minutes after the call was made and broke into the house where they found the boy, his twin brother and a younger brother inside with the mother lying unconscious on the floor. Paramedics gave first aid to the mother at her house and regained consciousness afterwards.

You've spent years developing your personas and you're tasked with building a content strategy that will meet the distinct needs of each one. In true Pygmalion fashion, you've shaped their personalities, and you're even more familiar with the intimate details of these prototypical models than you are with your own family members. You've constructed their names, jobs, loved ones, joys, fears, habits, aspirations, and social activities. But here's the rub: while personas can help shape your initial strategy, they aren't enough to keep your audience engaged in the long term. Why? Abstract archetypes or personas don't buy our products and services or read our publications.