Artificial Intelligence (AI) surged in popularity last year, as both businesses and the public saw first-hand examples of its potential applications. Companies like OpenAI released a wave of public demos, such as the advanced chatbot ChatGPT that has drawn the attention of Microsoft. Text-to-image generators such as Dall-E 2, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion took the limelight, as millions of users began to create their own AI-generated art, to the anger of artists and companies such as Getty Images. In its tech predictions for 2023, Dell Technologies Ireland said AI could become the "main engine of innovation" for the year, as more organisations adopt the technology to harness the full potential of data and support teams across a business. The sector has shown no sign of slowing down so far this year, with OpenAI reportedly in talks to raise funds at a $29bn valuation, Apple rolling out an AI audio narration tool and Microsoft researching an AI model that can simulate anyone's voice from only three seconds of audio.

The leaps AI made last year are expected to boost the digital transformation of businesses, while disrupting various sectors such as cybersecurity and autotech. Artificial intelligence (AI) surged in popularity last year, as both businesses and the public saw first-hand examples of its potential applications. Companies such as OpenAI released a wave of public demos, including the advanced chatbot ChatGPT which has drawn the attention of Microsoft. Text-to-image generators such as Dall-E 2, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion took the limelight as millions of users began to create their own AI-generated art, much to the anger of artists and companies such as Getty Images. In its tech predictions for 2023, Dell Technologies Ireland said AI could become the "main engine of innovation" for the year, as more organisations adopt the technology to harness the full potential of data and support teams across a business.

Companies can expect to see disruption in traditional models of data usage, storage, and analysis next year, with newcomers challenging the dominance of incumbent brands across various markets, including edge computing and 5G, according to the technology advisory and investment firm GP Bullhound. The firm's 13th annual Technology Predictions 2020 report culled insights from its worldwide team and discusses GP Bullhound's Top 10 trends and innovations that will impact the digital economy over the coming year. This will significantly enhance mobile computing capabilities, according to the report. The race to establish a claim to be the originator of the first fully operational 5G network has created a battleground around the telecom industry giants. Traditionally large players in this space, including Qualcomm, Samsung, and Huawei, will be some of the key companies vying for this claim over the next year.

Artificial intelligence (AI) marketing companies bagged $2.5bn of investment last year as marketers turned to the new technology to help analyse huge troves of data. Last year's investment surge has continued into 2019, with $1bn invested in the second quarter alone, according to figures compiled by tech investment firm GP Bullhound. The report shows that marketing AI remains a nascent sector, with private placements outnumbering merger and acquisition transactions. However, the steady rise highlights how marketers and increasingly looking to technology to help sort and analyse growing amounts of user data. "Artificial intelligence heralds the beginning of a new marketing era, driven by the need to connect vast amounts of disparate data, uncover patterns and make predictions, which only AI can accomplish," said Oliver Schweitzer, executive director at GP Bullhound.

LONDON – Unprecedented volumes of data and advances in AI are transforming the marketing services industry, according to a report released by leading technology advisory and investment firm GP Bullhound. AI and the Services Revolution reveals that investments in marketing-related AI have grown steadily, with $2.5bn of investments in emerging companies in 2018 – and $1 billion invested in Q2 2019 alone. A total of $11bn has been invested in the sector since 2014. While North America accounts for the majority of funding into AI marketing companies with a yearly volume of around $1.5bn in 2014-2018, Europe is showing the highest growth rate. The European market grew to represent 30% of all transactions in H1 2019, while Asian transactions have declined from 20% in 2018 to only 5% as of H1 2019.

Unprecedented volumes of data and advances in AI are transforming the marketing services industry, according to new research from technology advisory and investment firm GP Bullhound. The firm's new report, AI and the Services Revolution, reveals that investments in marketing-related AI have grown steadily, with $2.5 billion of investments in emerging companies in 2018--and $1 billion invested in Q2 2019 alone. In all, a total of $11 billion has been invested in the sector since 2014. While North America accounts for the majority of funding into AI marketing companies, with a yearly volume of around $1.5 billion in 2014-2018, Europe is showing the highest growth rate. The European market grew to represent 30 percent of all transactions in H1 2019, while Asian transactions have declined from 20 percent in 2018 to only 5 percent as of H1 2019.

From forecourt to scrapyard, a new car in the UK lasts an average of 13.9 years, which is why if you got one today, it might very well be the last car you buy. Over the next decade, accelerating autonomous driving technology, including advances in artificial intelligence, sensors, cameras, radar and data analytics, are set to transform not only how we drive (or, indeed, are driven), but the notion of car ownership itself. "Autonomous driving has become the next major battlefield for the car industry," says Luca Mentuccia, automotive global MD at Accenture. The six levels of automation, defined under international standards by the Society of Automotive Engineers, range from "no automation" to "full automation", explains Sven Raeymaekers, of tech investment banker GP Bullhound. "If you look at the most recent predictions, the majority of car manufacturers estimate the first highly to fully automated vehicles [AVs] will hit the market between 2020-2025," he says.

From forecourt to scrapyard, a new car in the UK lasts an average of 13.9 years, which is why if you got one today, it might very well be the last car you buy. Over the next decade, accelerating autonomous driving technology, including advances in artificial intelligence, sensors, cameras, radar and data analytics, are set to transform not only how we drive (or, indeed, are driven), but the notion of car ownership itself. "Autonomous driving has become the next major battlefield for the car industry," says Luca Mentuccia, automotive global MD at Accenture. The six levels of automation, defined under international standards by the Society of Automotive Engineers, range from "no automation" to "full automation", explains Sven Raeymaekers, of tech investment banker GP Bullhound. "If you look at the most recent predictions, the majority of car manufacturers estimate the first highly to fully automated vehicles [AVs] will hit the market between 2020-2025," he says.

In some ways, tech in 2017 will be a steady progression from what came before it. Time marches on, and so too does the advance of technology. In other ways, though, it will be just as upended as the rest of the world by the unprecedented disruption that 2016 has left in its wake. The artificial intelligence revolution is well and truly upon us, but so far, the biggest players are venerable Silicon Valley titans such as Google, Amazon and Apple. That's partially because they have the money to hire teams full of PhDs at seven-figure salaries, but it's also because they have the data.