Predictions: AI, IoT, and blockchain will dominate headlines in 2018

Information technology in 2018 is expected to be more exciting as technologies that were just a concept or in the trial stages in the past years will become a reality, according to technology companies. Commentaries submitted by technology companies had five common predictions related to artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, blockchain, cloud computing, and IT security. According to IDC, revenue growth from information-based products will double the rest of the product and services portfolio for a third of Fortune 500 companies by the end of 2017. "AI became mainstream with consumer products like Amazon Alexa and Apple Siri, and Hitachi believes that it is the collaboration of AI and humans that will bring real benefits to society," said Hitachi Vantara's Hubert Yoshida, chief technology officer, and Russell Skingsley, chief technology officer of Asia Pacific. "Through tools like Pentaho Data Integration, our aim is to democratize the data engineering and data science process to make Machine Intelligence – a combination of Machine Learning and AI – more accessible to a wider variety of developers and engineers. Zakir Ahmed, General Manager of Asia at Oracle NetSuite, notes that to date, AI has mostly been following simple rules. If A B then C else D. This proved to be sufficient for powering devices like smart fridges or cars. On the downside, this predictability also meant that people could easily outsmart AI, often with dire consequences. "Thankfully, in 2018 we will reach a pivoting point, where deep learning will fast become an integral component of AI," said Ahmed, noting that these new intelligent AI 2.0 systems will learn, suggest and automate processes by analysing business patterns and behaviours. "For example, banks can provide tailored financial services based on their customers' investment portfolio and risk appetite.