Amid a recent spate of high-profile layoffs and a recognition many companies rushed to hire to fill pandemic-driven business needs, organizations are now refocusing on quality of hiring -- and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to aid in those efforts. From 35% to 45% of companies are expected to use AI-based talent acquisition software and services to help select and interview job prospects in the coming year, according to two recent studies. Nearly three in four organizations boosted their purchases of talent acquisition technology in 2022 and 70% plan to continue investing this year -- even if a recession arrives -- according to a survey by online job recruitment service Modern Hire. More recently, AI has been applied to the task of creating job requisitions and similar materials shared by the employer that are gender and ethnicity neutral; the goal is to eliminate as much human bias as possible in hiring and increase diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The shift comes as the US unemployment rate dropped to 3.5% last month -- and just 1.8% in the tech sector -- making it hard for organizations to recruit top talent even as many companies lay off workers hired in haste during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are excited to bring Transform 2022 back in-person July 19 and virtually July 20 - 28. Join AI and data leaders for insightful talks and exciting networking opportunities. The heat of July is upon us, which also means we're exactly halfway to 2023. So, it seems like a good time to pause and ask: What are the biggest AI trends so far in mid-2022? The colossal AI trend that all other AI trends serve is the increased scale of artificial intelligence in organizations, said Whit Andrews, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner Research. That is, more and more companies are entering an era where AI is an aspect of every new project.

A distinct correlation exists between an organization's digital maturity and use of artificial intelligence (AI), a Cognizant report found. Those lower on the digital maturity curve, who classified themselves as beginners, said they were far less likely to consider themselves advanced in AI. While, digital mature organizations--also referred to as leaders--currently invest in AI to generate insights from data, rather than just simply collecting the information. Cognizant's Investing in AI: Moving Along the Digital Maturity Curve, released on Monday, surveyed nearly 2,500 executives globally to determine what it takes to reach digital maturity, identifying AI as the key component. SEE: Artificial intelligence: A business leader's guide (free PDF) (TechRepublic) Nearly 70% of respondents cited themselves as leaders in digital strategy, with the top tactics including implementing AI solutions (38%), replacing legacy systems (60%), and analyzing customer needs (47%), the report found.

For many manufacturers, digital transformation efforts are yielding tangible results including operational efficiencies, improved time to market as well as the ability to better meet ever-evolving customer expectations. However, according to Forrester, up to 93% of companies agree that innovation technologies are necessary to reach their digital transformation goals. For instance, an organization's ability to understand and effectively leverage artificial intelligence (AI) has surfaced as a key differentiator. According to a recent Cognizant report, "Investing in AI: Moving Along the Digital Maturity Curve," AI plays a critical role in enabling businesses to churn through data at the scale and precision required to succeed in today's global environment. The use of AI signals a shift in focus from the data collection phase, including initiatives like the Internet of Things (IoT) to generate data, to the data insights phase (i.e., AI).

"Deep learning is neither deep, nor is it learning," says Babak Hodjat, the vice president of projects for "Evolutionary AI" at IT services giant Cognizant Technologies. Hodjat's critique is part of a fascinating exploration of AI taking shape at IT services firm Cognizant Technology Solutions, a twenty-five-year-old company based in Teaneck, New Jersey that last year made nearly $16 billion in revenue serving some of the biggest companies in the world. For years, this IT giant has talked about "digital transformation," something that is large and significant but also something hard to get one's mind around because it very often seems vague and undefined. And then in December, Cognizant gave a whole new grounding and precision to that digital work by acquiring certain assets from an eleven-year-old AI startup Sentient Technologies. The company, co-founded by Hodjat, has been pursuing a thrilling line of work in what's called "evolutionary computation," where many algorithms, including conventional artificial neural networks, can be tested in parallel for "fitness," to select an optimal network to perform a task.

A fleet of 25 robots started delivering Blaze custom pizzas, Starbucks lattes and Dunkin' Donuts pastries to students at George Mason University's Fairfax, Va., campus last week. But their quiet presence on campus raised an interesting question: What are the rules for robots delivering food? It turns out those guidelines, mostly involving safety and customer service, are largely unwritten. But that hasn't stopped the experts from thinking about them. Did you say robots delivering food?

Say hello to CIMON, the world's first interactive A.I. system to be launched into space to assist the crew aboard the International Space Station. This robot is very smart, sort of like if Amazon's Alexa had gotten a Ph.D. in rocket science, but it can also tell jokes. Short for Crew Interactive Mobile Companion, this robot was brought into existence by melding Airbus' hardware with the software behind IBM's Watson supercomputer. "[CIMON is] the smartest lab partner in the world," Bret Greenstein -- IBM's Global Vice President of Watson Internet of Things Offerings -- tells Inverse. "[It] lets you take all the credit, is there for you when you need them."

IBM is bringing its enterprise artificial intelligence assistant to IFTTT, paving the way for intelligent services that can do much more than tell users the weather or answer trivia questions, the companies announced on April 26. Watson Assistant, formerly Watson Conversation, made its official debut on March 20 during IBM's Think 2018 conference in Las Vegas. In addition to new analytics capabilities and features that allow developers to create more fluid and robust conversational interactions, the virtual assistant is now available in versions tailored to the automotive and hospitality industries. IFTTT, short for "If This, Then That," is a San Francisco technology firm whose web service enables users to automate tasks across various other services or cloud applications. Using applets, each with a set of conditional commands, users can trigger a chain of actions like automatically adding new iOS contacts to one's contact list on Google or use Google Assistant to post a note on Slack with one's voice.

Amazon has Alexa, Apple has Siri, Microsoft has Cortana, Google has Google Assistant. As a member of the general public, you could ask any of those AI interfaces a question, depending on what device you owned -- iPhone, Echo, PC, or Android -- and most of the time get a coherent answer. These digital assistants have become the emerging user interface. IBM Watson is also an AI platform that can answer questions, but it has always been in a different category. Sure, it's been known to the general public, probably first through its triumph over Jeopardy champ Ken Jennings.

IBM is hoping to create a new voice assistant for the business world -- and before Amazon can create one first. At its Think conference in Las Vegas, IBM on Tuesday took the wraps off Watson Assistant, a virtual helper it's been developing with its customers for over a year. Don't expect to start saying, "Watson, what's the weather?" or "Watson, play They Might be Giants" to an IBM-branded speaker anytime soon. Instead, Watson Assistant will function as the behind-the-scenes brains for a variety of new digital helpers made by a variety of businesses for your home and in stores, airports, hotels and cars. For example, Watson Assistant is already in use at Munich Airport to power a robot that can tell you directions and gate information.