Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach an AI to recognise a fish... (via Passle)

The story that a Norwegian company has developed a scanner capable of recognising salmon by their faces (more specifically, "the distinct pattern of spots around their eyes, mouth and gills") and of identifying those with infections requiring medical treatment, is a perfect example of the potential AI has to change the modern workplace. AI evangelists (or prophets of doom, depending on your perspective) often predict that the technology will render human workers obsolete. In my view, the result of the growing adoption of AI will be a little less drastic, but no less significant. AI's great strength lies in analysing huge amounts of data and identifying patterns. It is a phenomenal tool for creating productivity gains, not simply by automating human work, but rather by giving humans the tools to apply far greater precision to their work.