Why 2017 is the year of data-driven AI

There was much ado about artificial intelligence (AI) platforms in 2016. Major developments and offerings came out of Microsoft (Cognitive Services), Google (TensorFlow), Amazon (Rekognition, Polly, Lex), IBM (Watson), Salesforce (Einstein), and many more. AI and machine learning (ML) are the hammers that turn just about every business' data problem into a nail. But if 2016 was the year of the platform, 2017 will be the year of data. Looking at AI through the lens of platforms is a bit like looking through the wrong end of a set of binoculars.