Here's an attention-grabbing idea: Deploying cellular-enabled Industry 4.0 solutions can generate a 10-20x operational cost-savings ROI (return on investment) over the course of five years. This is according to a joint research study from ABI Research and Ericsson. The research also suggests Industry 4.0 solutions can generate up to 8.5% in operational cost savings, which, for a factory or industrial site, can equate to an operational cost savings of up to $600 per square meter per year. Industry 4.0, also known as the fourth industrial revolution, is the idea that connectivity, automation technologies, and digitization are creating the fourth major revolution in the business of manufacturing. Thanks to trends like leveraging the IoT (Internet of Things), including wireless networking and sensors to collect machine data and enable predictive maintenance, as well as 3D printing, robots and cobots on the factory floor, machine learning and AI (artificial intelligence), 5G, and digital twins, among other trends, the Industry 4.0 market is projected by MarketsandMarkets to reach almost $157 billion by 2024. A big part of Industry 4.0 is the use of AI technologies to enable smarter machines that can take on tasks like self-monitoring and diagnosis autonomously.

Financial institutions looking to adopt and develop best practices on the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) should focus on three areas: explainability, bias and diversity, experts say. A new TD Bank Group survey of 1,200 Canadians found that a majority of Canadians (72%) are comfortable with companies using AI if it means they'll receive better and more personalized service, but 68% admit that they don't understand the technology well enough to know the risks. In addition to surveying Canadians about their attitudes toward AI, TD also engaged a cross-section of experts – from financial services, technology, fintech, academia, and public and not-for-profit organizations – to participate in a roundtable discussion to better understand the risks associated with AI in financial services. The findings were presented in the report Responsible AI in Financial Services, released at an Economic Club of Canada event Sept. 12. The roundtable analyzed future-state scenarios that presented instances where AI resulted in unintended consequences for customers.

NEW YORK - 28 Sep 2016: Amazon, DeepMind/Google, Facebook, IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Microsoft today announced that they will create a non-profit organization that will work to advance public understanding of artificial intelligence technologies (AI) and formulate best practices on the challenges and opportunities within the field. Academics, non-profits, and specialists in policy and ethics will be invited to join the Board of the organization, named the Partnership on Artificial Intelligence to Benefit People and Society (Partnership on AI). Leading tech industry researchers from Amazon, DeepMind/Google, Facebook, IBM and Microsoft convened to announce a partnership on artificial intelligence (AI) best practices, at IBM's Watson headquarters in New York City, Weds., September 28, 2016. Founding members of the Partnership on Artificial Intelligence from left: Eric Horvitz, Microsoft; Francesca Rossi, IBM; Yann LeCun, Facebook and Mustafa Suleyman, Google/DeepMind. Not pictured is Ralf Herbrich, Amazon.