How to Prepare for the Artificial Intelligence Revolution - The Blend: A West Monroe Partners Blog

In my previous blog, I discussed my take on the future and potential of artificial intelligence, analyzing my own use of an Amazon's Alexa Voice Service technology, and dreaming up a world where artificial assistants are our closest friends, our number one source of news and entertainment, and AI supersedes existing platforms in a post-digital era. At this point you might peg me as Joaquin-Phoenix-Her-level strange, but the market for Alexa skills proves that I'm not alone. Per the Alexa skill store, the largest skill categories for Alexa include news, games, trivia and accessories, educational reference, and novelty and humor in that order. Further, the most downloaded skills include an interactive adventure called Magic Door, a skill that reads bedtime stories, and a skill called "Inspire Me." Consumers are leveraging the entertainment value of these devices rather than their utility, and industry leaders are taking note. According to Fjord, "Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are already hiring comedians and script writers in a bid to harness the human-like aspect of AI."