How big firms leverage artificial intelligence for competitive advantage

As artificial intelligence continues to move into the mainstream, companies are combining AI and big data to build and design better products, react faster to changing market conditions, and protect consumers from fraud. According to experts at EmTech Digital, MIT Technology Review's annual event on artificial intelligence, big data plus AI creates a foundation for more intelligent products and services -- ones that initiate maintenance procedures before something breaks, perform more precise operations, or automatically recalibrate resources to meet changing demand and usage patterns. While AI and big data pave the way for such evolutionary use cases, the pair do not constitute a business strategy on their own accord. "The question is how do you use AI right or use it wisely," said panelist Ed McLaughlin, president of operations and technology for Mastercard. "The biggest lesson learned is how to take these powerful tools and start backwards from the problem," McLaughlin said.