In October, the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and the U.S. president issued a joint report titled "Preparing For The Future of Artificial Intelligence." If you were waiting for a sign to prove that the Fourth Industrial Revolution had begun, a policy statement from the White House on thinking robots definitively fits the bill. The report consists of a state of AI summary and lays out potential applications. It then delves into questions everyone has about what AI will do to society and public policy. It concludes with a strategic plan for federally-funded R&D for practical AI, based on actual request-for-information (RFI) proposals.

For the moment, forget all the high profiled media stories about the danger of artificial intelligence (AI). These arguments are based on what AI might become, not on what it is doing now. Business leaders like Steve Wozniak have joined iconic scientists like Stephen Hawking in warning that even benevolent AI could rapidly become dangerous simply though inadequate concern for human safety. Those discussions have value, but this is not the place for them. What matters in this discussion is the nuts and bolts of how AI -- as it exists in the real world today -- can impact revenues and drive innovation within Steven Covey's Three Horizons. As a refresher, McKinsey defines Horizon One (H1) as incremental enhancements to core businesses that are already well-associated with the brand.