Magic and hype: Two words that are frequently applied to artificial intelligence. Today, solutions leveraging the power of artificial intelligence are already paying off in robotics, automation, and manufacturing. AI is powering predictive systems, increasing the capabilities of robots, improving the precision of machine vision, and helping businesses optimize their processes to improve quality and reduce waste. This Association for Advancing Automation (A3) whitepaper will examine six application spaces where AI is already taking hold in automation and manufacturing. We will discuss how the technology is making a difference and what you should consider in your enterprise's AI journey.

Three reports, three pieces of evidence that the fourth industrial revolution is gathering steam. See it in terms of the Gartner Hype Cycle, which divides the technology cycle into stages around initial hype, disillusionment, before the technology finally starts to fulfil potential. There has been no shortage of commentary that AI is little more than a buzzword, automation technologies such as RPA are over hyped, while healthtech has often failed to live up to expectations. Then again, it always is thus, new technology often does attract a lot of wild claims, leading to some kind of crash, before it finally fulfils potential. Maybe we are finally reaching that point when potential is realised.