With the start of each year come predictions, plans, and surveys from consulting firms. When it comes to artificial intelligence, multiple recent surveys indicate that companies aren't just planning on spending serious money on AI in 2022 -- they are already making good money from the technology. A bit of context might be helpful. Despite some AI successes, one of the challenges in recent years has been that projects involving the technology have frequently lacked sufficient economic returns. In a 2019 MIT Sloan Management Review and Boston Consulting Group AI survey, for example, 7 out of 10 companies reported minimal or no value from their AI investments.

The lessons of this book are delivered in clear language and without technical jargon. I've worked with Randy Bean for almost twenty years, and I've read a lot of his writing. He prides himself on his ability to communicate about technical subjects to people with no technical backgrounds. If you are someone in a business role who has heard about such topics as big data, artificial intelligence, and digitization, and you want to know what all the fuss is about without getting lost in technical detail, you have come to the right place.

Any agile and aware organization is going to have activities in flux with regard to the fast-changing areas of big data, analytics, and AI. To learn about what the company is doing in the data space, we interviewed Jim Tyo, the company's Chief Data Officer (CDO). He told us that Nationwide has an aggressive level of activity underway, while focusing on the structure and organizational priorities for these important resources through a time of change. Tyo has been the company's CDO since 2016, and he reports to Jim Fowler, who arrived at Nationwide as Chief Information Officer in 2018. Fowler was previously the CIO at GE, and he is bringing in some of the same innovative ideas that GE Digital introduced to that company. For example, Fowler argues that Nationwide is a technology company, so his title has been changed to Chief Technology Officer, and his business function is now called Nationwide Technology.

Most large banks in the US are pursuing AI fairly assiduously, but JPMorgan Chase stands out for the depth of its commitment to the technology, the breadth of projects it has adopted, and the focus on driving actual business change from its AI initiatives. The Bank, the largest in the US and 6th largest in the world in terms of total assets, has AI projects or production applications in all the usual areas of banking: risk, fraud prevention, marketing, investment banking, wealth management advice, trading, back office automation, and customer engagement (particularly in the corporate banking area thus far). But JPMorgan Chase distinguishes itself from other banking firms in its level of investment, its hiring of AI academic stars, and its coordinated approach to the management of AI and analytics. JPMorgan Chase spends $11 billion a year on technology, and about half of that amount is devoted to research on new and emerging technologies. Its research investments cover a wide variety of domains, including investments in AI startups and AI-based hedge funds.

A 2018 research survey found that companies see competitors gearing up for big data and AI success -- and that's fueling their investment in similar capabilities. After years of hope and promise, 2018 may be the year when artificial intelligence (AI) gains meaningful traction within Fortune 1000 companies. This is a key finding of NewVantage Partners' annual executive survey, which finds that investment in big data and AI are increasing rapidly, though ROI remains elusive. In this webinar, Randy Bean, CEO of NewVantage Partners and author of "How Big Data and AI Are Driving Business Innovation in 2018," discusses the findings from the 2018 study of Fortune 1000 companies, gives examples, and shares his thoughts on the current and future states of big data and artificial intelligence implementation among leading business organizations. In this webinar, you'll learn: Get periodic email updates on upcoming webinars, panel discussions, and other special events.

General Electric (GE) was co-founded in 1897 by Thomas Edison. Today, 120 years later, GE is the single company with the longest continual presence in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and is undergoing one of the most dramatic transformation initiatives of any major company. Mainstream legacy businesses should take note. In a matter of only a few years, GE has migrated from being an industrial and consumer products and financial services firm to a "digital industrial" company with a strong focus on the "Industrial Internet" and $7 billion in software sales in 2016. This is the story of how GE has accomplished this digital transformation by leveraging AI and machine learning fueled by the power of Big Data.

General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt speaks during a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of GE's new headquarters as Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, left, and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh look on, Monday, May 8, 2017, in Boston. General Electric (GE) was co-founded in 1897 by Thomas Edison. Today, 120 years later, GE is the single company with the longest continual presence in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and is undergoing one of the most dramatic transformation initiatives of any major company. Mainstream legacy businesses should take note. In a matter of only a few years, GE has migrated from being an industrial and consumer products and financial services firm to a "digital industrial" company with a strong focus on the "Industrial Internet" and $7 billion in software sales in 2016.