However, fintech startups are working to upend the traditional underwriting process with an injection of machine learning technology. Datanomers, a New Jersey-based fintech startup, has developed a "financial risk profiler" that trawls the web for unstructured non-financial data on loan applicants, indexes the information and generates a report for the underwriter. Datanomers' Risk Profiler collects billions of data points available on the web about small businesses to create a credit profile for borrowers. So rather than digging through pages upon pages of a small business owner's reviews via Yelp Inc (NYSE: YELP) and Angie's List Inc (NASDAQ: ANGI) for signs of unsound business practices, an underwriter can simply enter the proprietor's name into a Google (parent company, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL))-like interface that will produce a PDF report of the prospective borrower's creditworthiness.

AI helped triple NVIDIA's data center revenue in the most recent quarter, with the company's CFO, Colette Kress, saying: "AI has quickly emerged as the single most powerful force in technology. If you have an Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Echo speaker in your home, have ever used Alphabet's (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google Assistant, or talked to Apple's Siri, then you've interacted with artificial intelligence on some level already. Amazon's most lucrative business, its Amazon Web Services (AWS), now offers machine-learning services (part of the broader AI market) to improve natural-language processing, image analysis, and speech generation across apps and services that use AWS. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Nvidia.

As the AI era continues to unfold, the idea of a future driven by artificial intelligence can evoke mixed emotions.Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) co-founder and Chairman Bill Gates referred to AI as the "holy grail" in computer science. On the other hand, and taking a far more apocalyptic perspective, Tesla CEO Elon Musk likened the development of artificial intelligence technologies to "summoning the demon." Regardless of our feelings on the matter, artificial intelligence is set to play an increasingly prominent role in our day-to-day lives. Let's examine 9 statistics that speak to how artificial intelligence is set to become one of the most important technology trends of our lifetimes. In a survey of corporate executives, 32% of respondents said voice recognition software like Apple'sSiri, Alphabet's (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google Assistant, and Amazon.com's

As it pulls the plug on iPhone jacks, Apple is making what appears to be a concerted move into machine learning as it seeks to upgrade its next operating system to improve its Siri virtual assistant along with emerging machine learning applications expected to find their way into other Apple devices. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) watchers point to last month's acquisition of machine learning startup Turi for about 200 million as another sign that the consumer electronics giants is laying the groundwork for a machine learning push. The Seattle-based startup's machine learning platform focuses on rapid development of real-time services and applications based on embedded machine learning models. Turi is seen as a natural fit for Apple's machine learning push since its application toolkits based on the Python programming language are designed to simplify development of machine learning models that can be embedded into applications and quickly scaled.

Key players in machine learning include big cloud players like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and IBM. A recent study by AI language company Narrative Science found that 80% of executives believed that AI solutions boosted worker performance and created new jobs. Nuance developed the technology that powers Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) Siri, which preceded other voice assistants like Alphabet's (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google Now, Microsoft's Cortana, and Amazon's Alexa. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon.com, The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft and has the following options: long January 2018 90 calls on Apple and short January 2018 95 calls on Apple.