What humans need to learn about machine learning

Artificial intelligence, machine intelligence, cognitive computing -- whatever you want to call machines that are capable of understanding and acting upon their environment -- is no longer solely the purview of highly credentialed lab directors and deep-thinking computer scientists. It has entered mainstream consciousness, and the public expects IT to play a leadership role as machine learning enters our workplaces, our living spaces and our lives. Chances are that you are not. Most executives, in the opinion of New York Times technology columnist John Markoff, are "ill prepared for this new world in the making." People have been thinking about automated work forever.