Will big data create a new untouchable business elite?

Will the ascent of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning built by big data create an unstoppable inequality of innovation? Last week we interviewed veteran investor Bill Janeway, and it was fascinating. Janeway described the way AI could allow an elite group of firms to innovate at speeds the rest of the world could only dream about. When I listened to his interview with Kenneth Cukier, it made me wonder whether economic ideas could be applied to the world of big data. In the spring of 2014, all my friends were suddenly holding copies of the same book.