There have been concerns surrounding the prospective security of human jobs as AI and ML become more advanced, but do experts believe that this kind of tech will overhaul workplaces entirely, and what will the AI evolution in 2020 mean for other developing technologies, like 5G? For some, it's important not to get carried away by the idea that AI will take over all aspects of culture anytime soon, and we should instead prepare for more subtle but nevertheless practical uses of it within our immediate environment. Investment in sustainable technology is imperative if we are to halt and reverse some of the damage we have done to our planet. Data scientist at Hitachi Vantara, Dr Anya Rumyantseva, said: "Artificial intelligence isn't just something debated by techies or sci-fi writers anymore – it's increasingly creeping into our collective cultural consciousness, but there's a lot of emphasis on the negative. "While those big picture questions around ethics cannot and should not be ignored, in the near-term we won't be dealing with the super-AI you see in the movies.

Currently, artificial intelligence serves as a great tool for delivering facts. However -- in its current form -- the technology is less capable of delivering telling insights and "making leaps of lateral thinking that characterises successful business initiatives," says John Gikopoulos, Global Head for automation and artificial intelligence, Infosys Consulting. The much debated argument that robots will replace human workers on a massive scale is an unrealistic idea, and only is possible -- if at all-- if you take a determinedly strict, fact-based approach to business. AI, robots -- whatever you want to call them -- are well placed for this data crunching business ideology. And, looking ahead, this relationship (between man and machine) will lead to a positive shift in the work people do (according to more insights from Gikopoulos).

The Bank of England and the World Bank Chief are only two voices, in a growing network, that are concerned by the rise of AI and the loss of jobs. This continuing question is not surprising, according to John Gikopoulos, Global Head for automation and artificial intelligence AI at Infosys Consulting: fear and uncertainty make for good headlines. "The short answer is that no-one can accurately predict what tomorrow's job market will look like, any more than the first observers of Stephenson's Rocket could imagine the huge numbers of people employed by the global, multi-billion dollar railway industry of today," explains Gikopoulos. "We prefer to take our cue from other industrial revolutions to which we've somehow managed to adapt. And the most likely outcome of AI will be a positive shift in the nature of the work we do."