There's no denying it: the era of the intelligent enterprise is upon us. As technologies like AI, cognitive computing, and predictive analytics become hot topics in the corporate boardroom, sleek startups and centuries-old companies alike are laying plans for how to put these exciting innovations to work. Many organizations, however, are in the nascent days of AI implementation. Of the three stages of adoption--education, prototyping, and application at scale--most executives are still taking a tentative approach to exploring AI's true potential. They're primarily using the tech to drive small-scale efficiencies.

Chinese billionaire has said that the world's best CEO will be a robot within the next 30 years. The 52-year-old founder of Alibaba - China's equivalent of eBay and the world's largest retail platform - warned that robots will bring'far more pain than happiness' in the next three decades. But he added that artificial intelligence will ultimately improve our everyday lives. Self-made billionaire and China's second richest man Jack Ma (pictured) has warned that robots rule over the world's biggest companies within 30 years Ma, who is worth £22.8 billion ($28.4 billion), said that advances in technology will render CEOs irrelevant within the next 30 years. 'In 30 years, a robot will likely be on the cover of Time Magazine as the best CEO,' Ma said in a speech over the weekend at an entrepreneurship conference in central China, according to CNN.

Alibaba founder and chairman Jack Ma, the man Fortune Magazine just named one of the world's great leaders, predicts that technology will make many CEOs irrelevant in the not-too-distant future. "In 30 years, a robot will likely be on the cover of Time Magazine as the best CEO," Ma said in a speech over the weekend at an entrepreneurship conference in central China. And he warned of dark times ahead for people who are unprepared for the upheaval technology is set to bring. Related: Chinese giant outbids U.S. rival for firm that handles Mexico money transfers "In the next three decades, the world will experience far more pain than happiness," the billionaire said, adding that education systems must raise children to be more creative and curious or they will be ill-prepared for the future. Robots are quicker and more rational than humans, Ma said, and they don't get bogged down in emotions -- like getting angry at competitors.