Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence: Main Developments in 2016 and Key Trends in 2017

At KDnuggets, we try to keep our finger on the pulse of main events and developments in industry, academia, and technology. We also do our best to look forward to key trends on the horizon. We recently asked some of the leading experts in Big Data, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning for their opinion on the most important developments of 2016 and key trends they 2017. "What were the main Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning related events in 2016 and what key trends do you see in 2017?" Common themes include the triumphs of deep neural networks, reinforcement learning's successes, AlphaGo as exemplar of the power of both of these phenomena in unison, the application of machine learning to the Internet of Things, self-driving vehicles, and automation, among others. We generally asked participants to keep their responses to within 100 words or so, but were amenable to longer answers if the situation warranted.