Many of the commodities that affect our everyday lives are processed by smelters and fumer-furnace operations. These include products made from copper, nickel, and zinc, such as electrical wiring, kitchen appliances, and some types of batteries. Smelters are also used to produce precious metals, such as gold or silver, and animal feed, and to provide heat for dryers and roasters, which must be operated in concert for efficient production. Despite the importance of smelters, operations are becoming increasingly challenging. Most smelters globally have been in operation for at least 20 years, resulting in higher maintenance requirements. Second, feed quality is declining.

For banks, the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) have always been evident. The only question is when and how to implement them in a way that reaps the best returns. Banks, for instance, have always had large volumes of data, over which it performs monitoring, analysis and insights-generating functions. Yet AI now presents banks with a future worth considering: what will it look like for banks to integrate advanced machine learning capabilities to help with all those processes? AI, with its wide spectrum of technologies could either remain a passing trend today or transform banking for ever.