GT caught up with state technology leaders at the recent National Association of State Chief Information Officers Midyear conference. Here's what they had to say about artificial intelligence, chatbots, blockchain and other headline-grabbing technologies. Amanda Crawford, Texas: We use AI today. We certainly use robotic process automation in a variety of applications and projects across the state. One of the exciting areas for us is using AI for security.

GT caught up with state technology leaders at the recent National Association of State Chief Information Officers Midyear conference. Here's what they had to say about artificial intelligence, chatbots, blockchain and other headline-grabbing technologies. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Amanda Crawford, Texas: We use AI today. We certainly use robotic process automation in a variety of applications and projects across the state. One of the exciting areas for us is using AI for security.

It's been a breakout year for AI in healthcare in particular: The pandemic drove AI-assisted disease research and drug discovery, as companies focused on studying Covid-19 or helping to develop a vaccine. Clinical decision support--the use of AI in diagnosing diseases--was the most active category of AI (in terms of number of deals) in Q3 2020, according to PitchBook data. "We think that the success that AI algorithms are having in diagnosing certain diseases is starting to make the adoption of those technologies feasible, which hasn't been the case historically," says Brendan Burke, a senior emerging technology analyst at PitchBook. Demand will likely rise for "equity engineers," or people who can work with AI tools to help remove biases and make the systems "much more representative of the world around them," says Peter Barrett, founder and general partner at venture fund Playground Global. That's led to an even hotter market for last-mile delivery tech: This year, electric vehicle startups Rivian and Arrival partnered with Amazon and UPS, respectively, on future fleets of electric delivery vans.

The AV industry is all about innovation. But for the past year, our creative energies have been devoted not to shaping the future, but solving the problems of the present. But larger trends are nonetheless having incremental influence over the direction we're heading. As the powerful capabilities of things like 5G connectivity, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing direct the technology world as a whole, how is pro AV incorporating them to create a more capable and intuitive future? Related: Tech Trends That WON'T Happen in 2021 We reached out to leading AV manufacturers to find out how prominent emerging trends are playing into their product development roadmaps.

In this episode, we talk about robotic process automation and artificial intelligence in the context of PwC's Intelligent Automation Framework. Ryan Martin and Jennifer Lendler join Bob Clark to discuss some of the exciting uses companies are finding for these technologies and break down the risks and challenges that accompany these emerging technologies in the real world. We discuss the following questions: 0:57 - What are the differences between robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning that CFOs and clients are hearing?

I am fascinated by new digital technologies and where they are taking us. And the more I dig into the rapidly emerging world of artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, the more convinced I am about their potential to completely transform the world. Of course, I can see the difficulties and challenges. But my overriding feeling is one of frustration: Why aren't we moving faster? Why don't governments take the digital transformation more seriously?

In the Digital Age, we often contemplate which professions today won't exist five or 10 years from now. But, fortunately, innovation is creating new ones to replace them, with many of these positions commanding salaries well into six-figure territory. Even better, a great deal of jobs in emerging tech qualify as "very cool"; they're all about pursuing intriguing discoveries while using the latest versions of IT tools. To find out which seven stand out as the very best, consider this list of the "Hottest Emerging Tech Jobs in 2019" from FitSmallBusiness.com. They include R&D test engineers for self-driving cars, machine learning experts and blockchain developers.

In the Digital Age, we often contemplate which professions today won't exist five or 10 years from now. But, fortunately, innovation is creating new ones to replace them, with many of these positions commanding salaries well into six-figure territory. Even better, a great deal of jobs in emerging tech qualify as "very cool"; they're all about pursuing intriguing discoveries while using the latest versions of IT tools. To find out which seven stand out as the very best, consider this list of the "Hottest Emerging Tech Jobs in 2019" from FitSmallBusiness.com. They include R&D test engineers for self-driving cars, machine learning experts and blockchain developers.

Cognitive technologies like machine learning and AI (artificial intelligence) certainly have proven to be an important part of the IoT (Internet of Things) sector because they can help make products and services smarter and, therefore, more valuable. These technologies can also help support human workers and decisionmakers and, in general, improve business operations. For this column, I am going to take a closer look into these technologies, exploring the current adoption landscape and prospects for the future, as well as discuss their business value. Some new research has come out that gives us some really interesting insight into the cognitive-tech landscape. There are also some cool examples of how companies are leveraging machine learning and AI to create value for people's lives and businesses, and I'll share an example of that as well.

Retailers have to refocus their marketing from driving traffic to stores to closing sales and managing loyalty, according to insiders at the National Retail Federation's 2017 Big Show, earlier this week in New York City. "We're only as good as the last transaction," said Greg Foran, CEO of Walmart U.S. E-commerce is now setting the bar for the in-store experience, and that, in turn, is changing expectations for the customer experience and technology deployed in stores, speakers said. Retail fundamentals will always be required, but merchants also need to master technological skills, said Bill Brand, president of direct retailer HSNi. "Technology is changing the way we shop [and] the way we enjoy products. Even the definition of what a store is changing " said Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel.