Science-Fiction meets reality - Amazon boss hails "golden age" of AI Access AI

That was the message from Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos who was speaking this week during a'Fireside Chat', at the Internet Association's annual gala in Washington, where he also described the world as entering a'golden age' of technology for solving problems. Bezos, who was answering questions from Internet Association President & CEO Michael Beckerman on stage, described AI as an "enabling layer" that will "improve every business." He also discussed Amazon in the early days of the internet, addressing success and failure in business, and his hopes for the future of humanity.Amazon's feelings towards AI and machine learning have never been in doubt. Amazon, described by the Association as a'pioneer' in AI, has made its feelings clear around the use of breakthrough technologies and machine learning, both from an operational and product point of view for more than a decade. Internally Amazon is said to have more than 45,000 robots in use across its global warehouses, operated various ways to fulfil orders and is already testing drones in the UK for future deliveries.It was also one of the first, if not the first, retailer to use AI and machine learning to provide predictive analytics on every individual customer, enabling its platform to predict what else the customer might want to buy – thus boosting sales.