The rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies around the globe has led to increasing calls for robust AI policy: laws that let innovation flourish while protecting people from privacy violations, exploitive surveillance, biased algorithms, and more. But the drafting and passing of such laws has been anything but easy. "This is a very complex problem," Luis Videgaray PhD '98, director of MIT's AI Policy for the World Project, said in a lecture on Wednesday afternoon. "This is not something that will be solved in a single report. This has got to be a collective conversation, and it will take a while. It will be years in the making."

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a term that is readily recognisable but often misunderstood. It is frequently misused by the media, the hype around potential and expectations is huge, and as a result, rarely enables business owners the ability to see how true AI can be applied. Business expectations are not aligned to the adoption of AI and this means that many firms are not benefitting from the exceptional possibilities that technological advancements can offer right now. It is important not to be drowned in the promise of the future by sacrificing the potential of the present day. AI is often viewed as the tool that will revolutionise a business's entire operations, or that it will take over and render human workers unnecessary.

Over the past few years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has attracted a huge amount of attention. It is anticipated to transform almost every sector including key areas such as finance, healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, automotive and aviation. The impact of this technology is so great that it has led the government and the AI sector to agree a Sector Deal to boost the UK's global position as a leader in developing AI technologies, which will see £1bn of investment put into the industry. For the legal sector and other professional services, AI is both a challenge for our clients in terms of how they will operate their businesses in future (and therefore something they will seek advice upon) and a challenge to how legal and professional services are delivered as AI replaces human review, analysis and advice. However, before businesses jump on the AI bandwagon, it's important to assess whether or not AI is the right tool to solve the problem before investing. There are countless stories of businesses being driven by marketing and media hype into implementing new technology that they don't actually need or are not ready for.

What exactly is artificial intelligence about? AI revolves around the development of complex algorithms enabling computers to be trained to perform specific human tasks. This could be the automatic analysis of images or recognizing, interpreting and translating texts.

What exactly is artificial intelligence about? AI revolves around the development of complex algorithms enabling computers to be trained to perform specific human tasks. This could be the automatic analysis of images or recognizing, interpreting and translating texts. But the technology can also be used to intelligently automate various operational company decisions, such ad the detection of tax fraud. The algorithms may not be equipped with the human capacity to innovate or to reason but very often they are faster and more accurate in executing very specific, very well delineated tasks.