2016: the year AI came of age

Over the course of 2016, artificial intelligence made the leap from "science fiction concept" to "almost meaningless buzzword" with alarmingspeed. Period-tracking app Flo "uses a neural network approach" to deliver "high period forecast accuracy"; food delivery app Just Eat launched a chatbot that "sees AI integrated into the ordering experience to ensure that customers receive the best, round the clock support and service"; restaurant guide Borsch "uses artificial intelligence to help people discover the yummiest dishes around". But unlike many buzzwords before it, from "big data" to "blockchain", artificial intelligence's transformation into venture capitalist-catnip doesn't signify the end of anyone serious using the term themselves. In fact, 2017 looks like it could be the most important year yet for the technology: AI will butt up against not only what is possible, but also what is desirable for the first time. Like many futures, the AI revolution feels interminably slow to live through, and will feel like it happened in an instant in hindsight.