The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated machine learning (ML) adoption in many areas, resulting in firms increasing their ML investment and implementation efforts. How can emerging markets like Latin America take the opportunity to embrace and adopt artificial intelligence (AI) and ML models more quickly? For more data-driven insights in your Inbox, subscribe to the Refinitiv Perspectives weekly newsletter. The 2020 Refinitiv machine learning survey confirms that ML adoption continues to grow globally, with North America leading adoption rates. Seventy-two percent of firms now say ML is a core component of their business strategy. In many areas, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated ML adoption.

Automation and Artificial Intelligence: Threat or Help? There are over 5 million search results when you Google, "Will artificial intelligence replace humans?". The doomsday scenario and visceral fear created by the potential "rise of the machines" has people like Elon Musk describing artificial intelligence as "summoning the demon," and the biggest threat facing the world. Advances in technology can absolutely simplify certain processes, buying behaviors and reduce operational costs. Just look at what Amazon has done to the retail sector, and not the least of which at where it's taking consumer goods purchasing, with its newly released Amazon Go.