Artificial Intelligence Is Here: Now What?

The topic of "artificial intelligence" has recently brought a confluence of nationally significant announcements. In September, Stanford University released its One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence, which was quickly followed by the announcement in early October that five firms -- Amazon, DeepMind of Google, Facebook, IBM, and Microsoft -- have formed a nonprofit named the Partnership on Artificial Intelligence to Benefit People and Society (Partnership on AI). A week after the Partnership on AI announced its formation, the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), which is overseen by the Executive Office of the President, released Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence. For the release of the Stanford and the NSTC reports, perhaps, but the formation of the Partnership on AI is no coincidence. The members of the Partnership on AI realize the marketplace is at an important "tipping point" when it comes to the increasing utilization of AI in the U.S. AI is already used in automobiles to enable enhanced driving safety features and GPS services, in smartphone apps, and in wearable medical device -- to name just a few examples.