Just like the invention of steam power in 1780, electricity in 1870, computers in 1960, AI changes our world today. Although it has been a while since AI reached our doorstep, the potential it has to offer is huge. So how artificial intelligence is changing business today? AI is good at processing large amounts of data. For businesses, it opens new horizons for quick and well-considered decision-making, risk management, forecasting, logistics optimization, marketing personalization, etc.

Artificial Intelligence in Practice examines 50 use cases of companies that are applying AI to solve industry specific problems. In that sense it provides interesting insights how AI is used in real life as opposed to the more theoretical discussions focusing on its potential. The fact that the examples exclusively focuses on large corporations also cements the progress AI has already made and the impact it has on our daily life. Examples range from the big tech companies Apple, Google, Facebook and alike to Retail, Consumer Goods and Food and Beverage Companies to Media, Entertainment and Telecom Companies to Services, Financial and Healthcare Companies to Manufacturing, Automotive, Aerospace and Industry 4.0 Companies. Each case gives a brief overview of the company, discusses what problem AI is solving in the specific example, how it is used in practice, what technology, tools and data were used to do so, showcases the results and concludes with a summary on the key challenges, learning points and takeaways.

Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Digitalisation – despite all the success stories it has written, the digital revolution is often also linked with the fear of people that it will eventually cost them their jobs. How realistic are these fears and how do individuals and companies need to face the digital transformation of the workforce? Cyborgs that hunt and eradicate humans, board computers of space ships that kill the crew, or an Artificial Intelligence that enslaves the human race – Terminator, 2001: A Space Odyssey or The Matrix are just three examples of a long list of movies about the dangers of AI. When we speak about Artificial Intelligence, we regularly are reminded of the science fiction stories that warn us about the rise of AI and its unintended consequences. Such scenarios – if ever realistic – at least seem very distant.

"I've seen the future of Compliance and it's not looking good for my profession." I had meant to write this article for a while now and started drafting yesterday, so it was a bit of a surprise when I found an article in the Financial Times this morning, which in large parts at least, discusses exactly the same subject. Well, I must be up to something, but to be fair I'm by far not the only one. The bottom line of the FT article is basically that thousand of Compliance jobs are at risk because of automated compliance systems using artificial intelligence. Following the financial crisis, banks had increased the number of Compliance staff significantly and according to an estimate from Citigroup the cost for the banking industry is about $270 billion each year.