The world is about to get a whole lot smarter. As the new decade begins, we're hearing predictions on everything from fully remote workforces to quantum computing. However, one emerging trend is scarcely mentioned on tech blogs – one that may be small in form but has the potential to be massive in implication. There are 250 billion microcontrollers in the world today. Perhaps we are getting a bit ahead of ourselves though, because you may not know exactly what we mean by microcontrollers.

These benefits will accrue incrementally, from automated operations, precision surgery, and preventive intervention (thanks to predictive diagnostics), but within a decade they will fundamentally reshape the healthcare landscape as we know it. "It's going to take years to get the full promise, but it does bring a particular tool into the dialogue that was never before available," says Kaveh Safavi, head of Accenture's global health practice. Safavi expects that AI applications may help solve the dilemma of what's known as the "iron triangle" in healthcare, in which three interlocking factors--access, affordability, and effectiveness--require inevitable and often negative trade-offs. Trying to improve one factor usually harms another, he explains. But AI has the potential to short-circuit the traditional methods to cut costs, improve treatment, and bolster accessibility in tandem.

From hospital care to clinical research, drug development and insurance, AI applications are revolutionizing how the health sector works to reduce spending and improve patient outcomes. The total public and private sector investment in healthcare AI is stunning: All told, it is expected to reach $6.6 billion by 2021, according to some estimates. Even more staggering, Accenture predicts that the top AI applications may result in annual savings of $150 billion by 2026. These benefits will accrue incrementally, from automated operations, precision surgery, and preventive medical intervention (thanks to predictive diagnostics), but within a decade they will fundamentally reshape the healthcare landscape as we know it. "It's going to take years to get the full promise, but it does bring a particular tool into the dialogue that was never before available," says Kaveh Safavi, head of Accenture's global health practice.