Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an emerging technology that isn't as malicious as old sci-fi movies might suggest. Today's AI is a combination of devices and machines that can interpret instructions and perform routine tasks that don't require a high level of critical thought. As Interesting Engineering states, the degree to which AI has advanced in a short space of time is staggering, being able to do facial recognition and even have conversations with human subjects. Companies are seeing the inherent benefits of employing machines to do most of their repetitive tasks for them as well. Science Daily defines modern AI as the study or design of intelligent systems, that are tasked with perceiving its environment and taking actions, which increases its chance of successfully completing a given task.

With the company valued at over $62 billion and running in over 523 cities around the world with plans to launch a fleet of autonomous cars, Uber is constantly looking to disrupt and innovate. And they are leading the pack when it comes to the use of machine learning in their strategy. At the Kaizen Data Conference hosted at Galvanizes' San Francisco campus, Uber's Head of Machine Learning, Danny Lange, discussed past, present, and future advancements in his area of expertise. This compelling talk covers artificial intelligence's central role in business disruption and innovation, from Uber's self-driving cars to emerging new technologies.