As the calendar reaches its last month in 2019, the bot is hot. Research firm Tractica LLC has forecast that a combination of cloud-computing and robotic hardware, software and services will propel global revenue in the cloud robotics field from single digits to in excess of $170 billion within the next five years. This is about a lot more than having robots deliver concierge services or burritos. Bots are having a major impact on how over 1-billion active Instagram users channel posts to reach target audiences. And "Grinch bots" are reportedly dominating online traffic to retailer login pages this week to elbow out human shoppers for the best deals.

Artificial intelligence (AI) might turn out to be the single biggest change the business world will see in our lifetime. Bots, like those little customer service chat windows that pop up on websites, as well as more futuristic-sounding things, like driverless cars, are already here. By 2020, I'll probably have a content-generating algorithm that writes all my op-eds for me while I take long walks on the beach, and they'll be as easy to read as Hemingway and emotionally evocative as Tolstoy. The thing is, we're just getting started with AI. Though it may seem like big changes are already happening – and they are – we've barely scratched the surface.

It is no secret that artificial intelligence (AI) is growing rapidly in sophistication. As evidenced by self-driving automobiles, computers capable of diagnosing certain medical conditions and bots that can make accurate financial trading predictions, society is poised for a major revolution. Naysayers predict there will be massive job loss as machines enter the labor pool, but history has so far proven that the economy has prospered and grown substantially due to automation. Bots are going to enter the workforce and cause displacement, that is certain. The human element will have to evolve and re-think its position to remain viable when systems become autonomous and self-driving.

"YOU are a developer and you've just spent two weeks writing this amazing app. Your dream is to get it in front of every iPhone user." That was how Steve Jobs, then Apple's boss, introduced an online shop for smartphone apps eight years ago. At first few paid it much heed, but it launched one of the fastest-growing software markets ever. Since then over 100 billion apps have been downloaded, generating 40 billion in revenues for developers and billions more in subscriptions and other fees.

"YOU are a developer and you've just spent two weeks writing this amazing app. Your dream is to get it in front of every iPhone user." That was how Steve Jobs, then Apple's boss, introduced an online shop for smartphone apps eight years ago. At first few paid it much heed, but it launched one of the fastest growing software markets ever. Since then, over 100 billion apps have been downloaded, generating 40 billion in revenues for developers and billions more in subscriptions and other fees.