Just how much will AI influence tomorrow's consumer economy? Will it know much we like avocado? When you talk to the average person about harnessing AI, many don't consider these questions. They are prone to offload fears of Skynet rather than contemplate how this tech will be used in the real world, as in our sushi bar example. Those with a little more subject matter knowledge may point to purely digital applications, such as social media platforms identifying terrorist content sans human intervention, or drug companies using machine learning to sift through mountains of health data for tomorrow's cures.

LONDON, / CHICAGO – Boffins at U.K. engineering giant Rolls-Royce proudly displayed an array of miniature robots at this year's Farnborough air show, best known as a major marketplace for passenger planes but also a test bed for the aviation industry's wilder imaginings. Designed to speed up engine overhauls, the manufacturer's tiny cockroach-like drones would remove the need for power plants to be detached from aircraft during maintenance work. The "swarming" bots, less than half an inch across, are designed to roam engine turbines in gangs, beaming pictures back to inspection crews after being deposited by so-called "snake" hosts that work their way through the engine. If the bots don't get you the drones will. The biannual air show was awash with unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, ranging from delivery craft that guarantee to gently deposit a parcel by your door to the latest military types intent on blowing stuff up.