Rules governing the use of artificial intelligence across the EU will likely take over a year to be agreed upon. Last year, the European Commission drafted AI laws. While the US and China are set to dominate AI development with their vast resources, economic might, and light-touch regulation, European rivals – including the UK and EU members – believe they can lead in ethical standards. In the draft of the EU regulations, companies that are found guilty of AI misuse face a fine of €30 million or six percent of their global turnover (whichever is greater). The risk of such fines has been criticised as driving investments away from Europe. The EU's draft AI regulation classifies systems into three risk categories: Unacceptable risk systems will face a blanket ban from deployment in the EU while limited risk will require minimal oversight.

IT systems (hardware and software) are becoming more efficient and sophisticated. At the same time, they are growing more complex. Virtualization and containerization are vitally important technologies, but their complexity creates challenges for the IT Ops department. Hiring more staff or using automation tools to respond to this increasing complexity is not the answer--Limited ability and resources make it difficult to simplify complex IT systems. So what is the answer?

Usually known for its secrecy, Apple Inc. has been relatively vocal about a key aspect of its future over the past few months. Through acquisitions, investments, research and public comments, Apple has been trying to send the message that if artificial intelligence is indeed the future, the most valuable company in the world is getting prepared. Apple AAPL, -1.08% has been much quieter, however, about what exactly it intends to do with the AI knowledge and experience it is gaining. Perhaps the most obvious outward example of its artificial-intelligence applications, the Siri voice assistant, inspires mixed feelings from users, especially those who have welcomed Amazon.com And while AI is central to Google's core ad and search businesses, Apple's main business is still making iPhones, where AI remains a small component.

The biggest new product to come out of Salesforce this year is an artificial intelligence feature called "Einstein." Einstein basically collects and analyzes a bunch of data to push out "smarter" and more predictive analytics for Salesforce users. But early reviews of Einstein seem to be mixed so far. Most users agree it's still at a very early stage and is a couple years away from becoming a mainstream product for large business users. "Our sense is that the recent launch of Einstein is very early in terms of technology readiness, as well as customer awareness and market adoption...it will likely take another year or two before these features/products gain meaningful adoption," Cowen & Co. analyst Derrick Wood wrote in a note published Monday.