Three Ways Artificial Intelligence Is Improving How Companies Do Business

In 1961, the world's first industrial robot clocked in at a General Motors plant in Trenton, New Jersey. The 4,000-pound mechanical arm, named Unimate, was designed to weld cars and lift big pieces of metal. The robot was a huge success--even landing a spot on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Almost sixty years later, the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) has seen machines leap from physical to mental labor. As computers step into roles that involve reasoning, a new wave of industries ranging from medicine to finance stands to benefit from--or get left behind by--AI.