In an increasingly digitized world, the artificial intelligence (AI) boom is only getting started. But could the risks of artificial intelligence outweigh the potential benefits these technologies might lend to society in the years ahead? In this segment of Backstage Pass, recorded on Dec. 14, Fool contributors Asit Sharma, Rachel Warren, and Demitri Kalogeropoulos discuss. I think artificial intelligence is going to continue to provide both benefits as well as detriment to society. It's empowering these law enforcement agencies to have a more efficient way of tracking down criminals, keeping people safer. Are these algorithms judging people equally or are they including certain things that single out certain individuals that may or may not be fair in the long run and may, in fact, result in less justice?

An eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) executive who focuses on artificial intelligence recently sat down for an interview during which he described some of the unique challenges facing IT managers who use AI software. In this video from "The Virtual Opportunities Show," recorded on Jan. 18, Fool.com analyst Asit Sharma and Fool.com contributor Demitri Kalogeropoulos discuss the extra risks for tech companies as they use more AI across their systems. Asit Sharma: This is an article that our colleague, ProShopGuy, Mike McMahon, had tweeted out. It's called, why eBay's AI Chief is setting guardrails for use of low-code AI. eBay is stepping into the AI space in a big way. They've been working with machine-learning for years, Demitri, in trying to get their products placed better when you visit the site, so they're not alone in this endeavor. But eBay's push into AI even extends into having merchants on its platform use a little bit of AI in their systems.

The global artificial-intelligence (AI) market could grow at a compound annual growth rate of 55.6% between 2018 and 2025, according to Allied Market Research, as a wide range of industries use AI applications to streamline and improve their businesses. However, AI is such a hot buzzword in tech circles that it can be tough to identify the industry's worthy long-term investments. Today, a trio of our Motley Fool investors will highlight three promising AI plays -- Tencent (NASDAQOTH: TCEHY), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA). Leo Sun (Tencent): Tencent, one of China's top tech companies, owns the country's most popular mobile messaging platform in WeChat, as well as one of its most popular payment systems in WeChat Pay. Tencent Video is one of China's leading streaming video platforms, and Tencent Music (NYSE: TME), which was spun off in an IPO last year, is the country's leading music streaming platform.

The artificial intelligence market is often cited as the next frontier for many tech companies, since AI algorithms can quickly crunch large amounts of data to automate decisions. However, AI is frequently tossed around as a buzzword, which makes it tough for investors to identify the top investments in the market. Today, a trio of our Motley Fool contributors will highlight three companies that have established firm footholds in the nascent AI market: Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), and AMD (NASDAQ:AMD). Leo Sun (Baidu): Chinese tech giant Baidu, which owns the country's largest search engine, is also one of the world's biggest players in artificial intelligence. Like its overseas counterpart Alphabet's Google, Baidu accumulated large amounts of data through its search engine, mapping platform, mobile app, and cloud services.

If you're looking for exposure to the artificial intelligence trend, you'll find no lack of potentially attractive investment options. From retail to cloud services to software, the technology is already reshaping fundamental aspects of dozens of industries. To narrow that wide field a bit, we asked Motley Fool contributors to highlight a few AI stocks worth following in February, and they offered up IBM (NYSE: IBM), iRobot (NASDAQ: IRBT), and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). Read on to see why these investments might deserve a spot on your watch list. Leo Sun (IBM): IBM is often considered a dusty old tech company, but it remains a major player in the AI market.