In Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker is rescued from the frozen wastes of Hoth after a near-fatal encounter, luckily to be returned to a medical facility filled with advanced robotics and futuristic technology that treat his wounds and quickly bring him back to health. Back in 1950, Turing argued that for a genuine AI we might do better by simulating a child's mind than an adult's. This insight has resonance given recent work on "life history" theory in evolutionary biology--the developmental trajectory of a species, particularly the length of its childhood, is highly correlated with adult intelligence and flexibility across a wide range of species (1) Many researchers and companies have tried to apply artificial intelligence to the healthcare system, with applications including image interpretation, voice recognition, clinical decision support, risk prediction, drug discovery, medical robotics, and workflow improvement. However, several important technical, ethical, and social barriers must be overcome, such as overfitting, lack of interpretability, privacy, security, and safety.

In seeking to offer a more personalized customer experience, companies have found in machines an unsuspected ally. From smaller sensors to contact centers using Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine-based technologies can help organizations better understand, serve and connect with their customers. Every company is convinced of offering something unique to its customers, which allows it to differentiate itself in the market, whether it is a patented product or a specialized service. However, the key differentiator for companies is not just the product or service they offer, but the way it is delivered. In a world where online storefronts can be launched in a matter of weeks and entire industries can be disrupted for months, more companies are rightly emphasizing customer experience, new battleground of market shares and customer loyalty. This is not really a surprise for companies that have been following the digital transformation for the last ten years.

But connecting the machines themselves is only an intermediate stage. The continual flow of information that connected machines make available permits management of the machine's entire lifecycle, from the installation stage to that of maintenance and up to replacement. For machines owners, this translates to guaranteed system operation, with a development in the business model for the machines, which moves on from the purchase of a physical item to the purchase of the expected benefits. The provisioning of a suitable machine, its appropriate installation and its corresponding maintenance are entirely the responsibility of the supplier. A key aspect in achieving this goal is data processing.