Let's dig deeper into these points and see how Artificial Intelligence can address them. The traditional way to save energy has always been to invest in new appliances, new machines, or better infrastructure. For instance, a building can become more energy efficient by investing in better insulation or a better HVAC plant. Or a factory could install a CHP (combined heat and power) solution, or change its machinery for more modern and efficient ones. The common denominator here is that all these initiatives require some degree of investment in physical components that are often quite expensive. We don't discount low-hanging fruit that can bring about substantial gains with limited investment, but these kinds of measures are often already in place.

Machine Learning is a field of computer science concerned with developing systems that can learn from data. Like statistics and linear algebra, probability is another foundational field that supports machine learning. Probability is a field of mathematics concerned with quantifying uncertainty. Many aspects of machine learning are uncertain, including, most critically, observations from the problem domain and the relationships learned by models from that data. As such, some understanding of probability and tools and methods used in the field are required by a machine learning practitioner to be effective.

At First4Lawyers, we are very proud of the fact that the business celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, and it is tempting to spend much time reflecting on the last ten years, how the industry has changed or how in some cases it hasn't. However, with a few weeks of 2018 now under our belts and insurers already irking the industry, such as with the news that policies cost drivers on average an extra £70, or 9% on 2016, I prefer to look ahead and see where the industry is heading....

Disruptive technology has had a profound impact on academic institutions. STEM subjects have benefitted hugely from new tech, but technological disruption has also changed the way that social studies and economics is taught. As well as working alongside companies, universities (as well as colleges and schools) train students to navigate the changing world. For example, Ohio State University and Carnegie Mellon University have both opened classes in smart city technology. Academia is a key resource for tech firms, providing hubs of innovation with the knowledge and talent to complete successful projects.