Google Ups the Ante on AI -- Upside

In my series of articles last March, I noted that cognitive computing and related/overlapping concepts such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning had seen slow uptake in business intelligence (BI). As 2016 draws to a close, a second look is warranted, given the enormous hype and publicity the topic has drawn in the intervening months. Although there has been limited progress in AI for BI in the interim, several fascinating developments have emerged in AI research, particularly from the wide world of Google. Recent announcements suggest that the impressive advances seen in Google DeepMind AlphaGo's comprehensive defeat of Go world champion, Lee Se-dol, are only the first step on the journey. Until that moment, AI experts expected that it would still take some years before AI could outwit a world champion.