In this special guest feature, Bradley Merrill Thompson, a partner in the Washington DC office of law firm Epstein Becker; Green and Chairman of the Board of the firm's consulting affiliate EBG Advisors, starts a compelling and timely conversation on the FDA's approach to regulating machine learning.

The idea of thinking machines may evoke thoughts of a Terminator-esque era, but the fact is that artificial intelligence, to an extent, is already a part of our lives and its presence is only set to grow. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science that deals with making computers simulate human intelligence. However technical and geeky that may sound, AI is a far less mundane technology than you might believe. Right from medical diagnoses to driverless cars, AI has fundamentally improved the way people consume a product, which is why marketers bet on it big time. A 2016 survey by Demandbase pointed out that over 80 percent of marketing executives believed that AI would revolutionise marketing by 2020.

The idea of thinking machines may evoke thoughts of a Terminator-esque era, but the fact is that artificial intelligence, to an extent, is already a part of our lives and its presence is only set to grow. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science that deals with making computers simulate human intelligence. However technical and geeky that may sound, AI is a far less mundane technology than you might believe. Right from medical diagnoses to driverless cars, AI has fundamentally improved the way people consume a product, which is why marketers bet on it big time. A 2016 survey by Demandbase pointed out that over 80 percent of marketing executives believed that AI would revolutionise marketing by 2020.