Brazil has a big electricity theft problem. But an AI algorithm tested on several million of the country's households shows promise as a tool for helping cut this out. It could also offer insights for electricity suppliers elsewhere seeking to do a better job of reading your meter. Who is responsible for the theft in Brazil isn't always clear – sending meter readers to check whether meters and overhead cabling have been tampered with is dangerous work, says Adrian Grilli of the Joint Radio Company in London, which does telecommunications for global energy companies. Electricity theft is hardly limited to Brazil: some countries see as much as 40 per cent of their supply siphoned off largely by users who have tampered with meters.

Because of its importance, it's a phrase that is increasingly in our orbits. Digital transformation is to some people like the Wizard of Oz as citizens of the Emerald City saw him -- a grand, great mystery that intimidates everyone because they don't know exactly what it is. But digital transformation is more like a gift handed out by the old guy behind the curtain; it may mean different things to different companies, but in the end, a simple solution will carry you forward. In the abstract, digital transformation is where aggregated data and technological advancements meet. In effect, it is this era's version of the industrial revolution.