Hardly a day goes by without news headlines trumpeting another advance in artificial intelligence. Yet despite all the publicity, many people still think of intelligence as the mere accumulation of information. The late musician Kurt Cobain shared an interesting perspective on the difference when he wrote: "I have met many minds able to store and translate a pregnantly large amount of information, yet they haven't an ounce of talent for wisdom or the appreciation of passion." Despite famously dropping out of high school, Cobain had an astute grasp on one of the most vexing problems in cognitive science. He understood you can have six strings on a guitar or 88 keys on a piano but still lack music.

While many companies view artificial intelligence as an integral part of their future success, very few have fully embraced the technology. According to a global Accenture survey, business executives believe that within the next two years, artificial intelligence will work next to humans in their organisations as a co-worker, collaborator and trusted advisor. Accenture predicts by 2022, firms that adopt AI can boost revenues by up to 38 per cent. But rolling out AI at scale across a company is far easier said than done. And despite the lofty ambitions, very few businesses locally have taken AI beyond the experimental stage. There are still significant hurdles to be overcome when adopting AI in a significant way.