Five things business leaders should know about machine learning and AI

The excitement around artificial intelligence (AI) has created a dynamic where perception and reality are at odds: everyone assumes that everyone else is already using it, yet relatively few people have personal experience with it, and it's almost certain that no one is using it very well. This is AI's third cycle in a long history of hype – the first conference on AI took place 60 years ago this year – but what is better described as "machine learning" is still very young when it comes to how organisations implement it. While we all encounter machine learning whenever we use autocorrect, Siri, Spotify and Google, the vast majority of businesses are yet to grasp its promise, particularly when it comes to practically adding value in supporting internal decision making. Over the last few months I've been asking a wide range of leaders of large and small companies how and why they are using machine learning within their organisations. By exposing the areas of confusion, concerns and different approaches business leaders are taking, these conversations highlight five interesting lessons.