There has been much talk about the great use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within financial services to streamline processes and add value, some of which we are already seeing in the form of robo advisors and big data processors.

Do you wonder how Internet of Things Will Affect Your Social Media Strategy? What part does Artificial Intelligence and Technology Play in Social Media? It all may sound like a sci-fi movie at first, but this is real life. New technologies are shaping the world we live in and at a rapid pace. Here's a quick guide to help you understand some of these emerging technologies and how they will affect social media.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is all the buzz this year. According to CB Insights, as of June 15, this year, more than 200 AI venture financing deals have been completed already totaling $1.5B in dollar volume. If the latter half of the year continues at this pace, 2016 will be a record year. Based on analysis by CB Insights, most of the deals being done are at a series B or C stage, indicating that startups in this space are beginning to see success. AI, as most people now know, has several applications in health technologies, marketing & sales, business analysis and financial services.

When you imagine the ideal chatbot, what do you picture? The bot in your mind's eye may resemble something along the lines of blockbuster movie favorites like Baymax from Big Hero 6, Wall-E's EVE, or my personal hero, C-3PO. You probably didn't imagine a small tower that lives on your shelf, like Alexa; a virtual being that resides in the cloud and is accessed through your smartphone, like Siri; or even a pop-up chat window on your computer screen that can answer questions about your favorite products. Besides their looks, there's another major difference between today's artificial intelligence (AI) and our movie favorites: Our most beloved fictional chatbots all possess emotional intelligence (EI). As we move into the future, AI needs humanizing qualities to improve the way it interacts with us, meets our needs for information, and even controls the other technology around us.

Disruptive technologies are dictating a new future for humankind. Almost every day we hear of new advances that blur the lines between the realms of the physical, the digital and the biological. Robots are now in our operating rooms and fast-food restaurants. It's possible, using 3D imaging and stem cell extraction, to grow human bone from a patient's own cells. This tsunami of technological change is clearly challenging the ways in which we operate as a society.

With advances in information technology, robotics, and artificial intelligence developing at a rapid rate, workforce dislocations are happening now and are here to stay. As existing trends accelerate and irreversibly change the workforce as we know it, the question to be answered is–what will we do to broadly share the gains and alleviate the challenges? Cities often lead trend cycles for mass adoption of new technologies. We all know that technological unemployment is as old as technological innovation. However, American cities are entering a period where the maturation of certain technologies will serve as a force multiplier–affecting every sector of the local economy, every worker, and every job. Automation helps innovation flourish and brings cost savings for businesses, but also displaces jobs.

Photo Caption: IBM predicts that in five years artificial intelligence will'listen' to speech patterns and then analyze them with a text analysis algorithm that can identify mental health issues. This will help doctors and individuals better prepare for the disorders.

Over the last two decades, banks and financial institutions have achieved significant efficiencies through outsourcing, offshoring and labor arbitrage. Those levers can only go so far, however, when it comes to further cutting costs and simultaneously growing revenues -- particularly at a time when disintermediation is increasing and budgets are diminishing. To address this, enter the "bots": Financial services institutions including retail banks, investment banks, custodians, commercial banks and insurers are turning to digital labor, which represents a new wave of technologies such as robotics process automation (RPA) and cognitive automation. "Bots" are not the electromechanical robots with arms and legs one may have seen in sci-fi movies. Instead, this refers to software configured to interact with computers and applications just like a human would, performing high-volume, repetitive processes and tasks.

When you imagine the ideal chatbot, what do you picture? The bot in your mind's eye may resemble something along the lines of blockbuster movie favorites like Baymax from "Big Hero 6," "Wall-E's" EVE, or my personal hero, C-3PO. You probably didn't imagine a small tower that lives on your shelf, like Alexa; a virtual being that resides in the cloud and is accessed through your smartphone, like Siri; or even a pop-up chat window on your computer screen that can answer questions about your favorite products. Besides their looks, there's another major difference between today's artificial intelligence (AI) and our movie favorites: Our most beloved fictional chatbots all possess emotional intelligence (EI). As we move into the future, AI needs humanizing qualities to improve the way it interacts with us, meets our needs for information, and even controls the other technology around us.

I have the opportunity to review a lot of different technology products and I tend to put them into one of three categories. First, there are those products that really impress me and make me thankful for living in the Digital Age. The second category is made up of some useful and fun tech products that aren't very original, but enjoyable. The third category includes tech products that are poorly made, unoriginal or serve no purpose. Recently, I determined I should create a fourth category after a friend asked an intriguing question. He knows I'm a techie and always testing the latest, greatest tech products and gadgets.